I thank the Cathaoirleách for affording me the opportunity of raising the important matter of extending fifth freedom rights to Aeroflot to allow them to pick up passengers in Shannon Airport and transport them to New York.
Aeroflot International has been a valued customer in Shannon Airport for over 20 years and, as a result of Aeroflot deciding to land at Shannon for refuelling purposes, much employment has been provided in the airport and indirectly in the region in general. When the Soviet Union split up, the Aeroflot airline was somewhat diminished in size. However, it continued to do business at Shannon.
The aviation world is rapidly changing and it is important that the Minister, the Government and the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications recognise this and, operate to take a proactive position now rather than a reactionary position at a later stage when certain decisions have been taken at international level. I compliment Minister Dukes for the fact that he has visited Shannon on a number of occasions to meet with interested parties, namely Signal, Aer Rianta and the marketing committee of the RDO in the mid-west region. The fact that the Minister came to Shannon to consult with these groups is extremely important. It was unfortunate that a certain Member of the Opposition jumped on the fact that the Minister had visited the region and used it in a negative and destructive fashion. Since Shannon lost its sole transatlantic status, this was the first time any politician in the mid-west used a situation to his or her own political advantage. That has been very negative for the region and I assure the Minister that the views expressed by the said Member of the Lower House do not generally reflect the views held by public representatives in the mid-west region. It is widely recognised that the Minister, even prior to becoming Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, always had a very positive view in relation to Shannon Airport.
I am asking the Minister to look at the application which is before him and to treat it in a positive fashion. It is important that the Minister recognises that Aeroflot business is fundamental to the international status of Shannon Airport. I believe that they should be allowed to pick up passengers at Shannon and take them to New York. During the summer season in particular, Aer Lingus is unable to meet demand. It is imperative that the consumer is given a choice. By allowing Aeroflot to pick up passengers, the Minister would be giving the customer such an opportunity. It is important to recognise that the CIS states are going from strength to strength, with constant improvement in their economies. We should respond to that by co-operating and improving our contacts with them and by accommodating Aeroflot at this stage of its development.
Since the removal of Shannon Airport's sole transatlantic status some years ago by the then Minister, Deputy Cowen, we have witnessed a dramatic expansion of traffic through Dublin. There is no corresponding increase in Shannon. The increase in traffic through Dublin does not come through the United States and the argument which was put forward for the removal of transatlantic status from Shannon has not been substantiated at all. The traffic increase in Dublin comes primarily from Europe and the UK. Perhaps that is a matter which should be discussed on another occasion. Hopefully, the Minister will impress on the national airline the need to provide better services to Dublin, into the UK and mainland Europe from Shannon. Aer Lingus are very remiss in that matter and many in the mid-west believe that they only come to the mid-west to cream off good business in the height of summer. Aside from that, they do not seem to be interested in providing serious services into the UK and mainland Europe.
It is important that there is balanced economic and social development throughout the regions but particularly in the mid-west region. Granting fifth freedom rights to Aeroflot will assist in bringing some balance to the region. Aer Rianta and the various representative organisations in Clare and the mid-west region fully support the application. I would again like to take the opportunity to thank the Minister for the meetings he has had in the area and for listening to people's concerns about the future of Shannon. I urge the Minister to consider granting fifth freedom rights to Aeroflot as soon as possible. We are now facing into a summer season where much traffic goes through Shannon, and Aer Lingus is unable to meet the demands on the transatlantic route. It is important that Aeroflot be given the opportunity to provide transport into New York from Shannon.