Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question.

Shannon Airport Authority, SAA, a subsidiary of Shannon Group, has statutory responsibility for the management and operation of Shannon Airport and as such the issue raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for the company. Within that context, I will try to be helpful, but that should be acknowledged. That said, there is no proposal to downgrade the airport.

I understand that the need to evaluate business processes and practices in Shannon Airport in the context of productivity and competitiveness was identified in the run-up to the separation of the airport from DAA back in December 2012.

In this regard, one of the proposals on which the company has had recent discussions with staff and union representatives is to operate at category 9 on a flexible basis rather than operate permanently at that level, 24-7, all year round. This would contribute to a more efficient operating model at the airport without any material impact on flight operations.

Since independence from the DAA at the end of 2012, cumulative traffic at the airport has grown by over 24%. Prior to that, Deputies may recall that passenger traffic through Shannon Airport had fallen for five straight years; the airport lost two thirds of its passengers between 2006 and 2012. The first priority for the independent airport was to halt that slide and then reverse it. A decline of that scale was always going to be challenging to address, but it is to the credit of both management and staff that Shannon Airport has made significant progress in achieving that. Last year, almost 1.75 million passengers passed through Shannon Airport compared with just 1.39 million in 2012.

Also, since the establishment of Shannon Group, the number of globally recognised aviation and aerospace companies around the airport has increased from 40 to 50 companies, employing 2,400 people compared with 1,600 in 2012.

Like any business, SAA is conscious of the need to control its costs so that it can remain competitive and continue to attract new airline business in an increasingly competitive international marketplace.

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