Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

Covid-19: Impact on Aviation (resumed)

Mr. Sean Doyle:

The reality of the neo is that we are addressing the payload restrictions by installing some additional tanks. It is not a significant issue out of Dublin and it will become less of a significant issue as we get into the winter.

We stopped using wide-bodies out of Shannon some years ago and they are the main way in which cargo is transported. The cargo uplift on a narrow body is much smaller so I do not think cargo would make the case for the neo being deployed to Shannon. We need healthy passenger demand to make the case work. In terms of the neo out of Dublin, the payload restriction, considering the loads we currently have, is not a significant factor in the economics.