Deputy Noonan has been given permission to raise the question of Aer Lingus charter flights by-passing Shannon on the outward journey. The Deputy has 20 minutes and the Minister has ten.
Adjournment Debate. - Aer Lingus By-pass of Shannon.
(Limerick East): I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his staff for facilitating me in this matter. I do not intend to take 20 minutes to make my points but with your permission, Sir, I should like Deputy Carey to be allocated part of my time.
I raise this matter because it has been brought to my notice by constituents that Aer Lingus intend to operate from next week a weekly jumbo jet charter flight from Dublin to Toronto which will not stop at Shannon on the outward journey. This has very serious implications for the Shannon region, for Limerick city and the mid-west. Under the regulations whereby Aer Lingus operate they are obliged to stop at Shannon on outward and inward scheduled flights. In operating charter flights they have an obligation to stop in one direction. It has been the practice that Aer Lingus flights stopped at Shannon in both directions. When this practice was deviated from, they always stopped on the outward journey. This is the spirit of the regulations because the benefit derives to Shannon when the stop is made on the outward flight and there is no benefit when it is made on the inward one.
The overflying of Shannon on the proposed Dublin-Toronto weekly charter will mean a loss of £12,000 per week per flight. Shannon will lose the catering on this flight to the tune of approximately £5,000. They will lose the duty-free benefit which derives from a flight passing through. In the case of a jumbo this is approximately £5,000. It will lose handling and other charges of approximately £2,000, bringing the total loss to £12,000. I am seriously concerned about this financial loss to the airport and Aer Rianta are concerned about it also. If this was the sole loss we might be able to accept it in a large international airport, but what I and my constituents fear is that this is the thin edge of the wedge and the downgrading of Shannon Airport. Once it has been by-passed we will quickly reach a situation where most flights out of this country will be from Dublin and Dublin will become the trans-Atlantic airport despite Government commitments that Shannon would be the trans-Atlantic airport of the country.
Shannon is more than just an international airport to the region in which it is situated. It is one of the most attractive selling points the IDA and SFADCo have in attempting to attract industry. They have been very successful in getting industry into Shannon and the mid-western region. The airport is what makes it such an attractive location for modern, light technological industry.
The Government gave repeated commitments that Shannon would not be downgraded. I tried to raise this matter this morning by means of a Private Notice Question and when the Ceann Comhairle and his staff researched the appropriateness of the question they were informed by Aer Lingus that there was no change taking place. This was a blatant attempt to avoid answering the question I am raising. Aer Lingus are operating within the regulations but they have broken the spirit of them. The regulations are being operated to the detriment of the country and Shannon Airport because they refuse to stop on the outward flight.
The Minister is aware that there has been concern over the past 12 months that an international airport at Knock, for which repeated commitments were given by the Taoiseach, would be a competitor for Shannon. This point was forcibly made by many public representatives and the Taoiseach repeatedly said that the status of Knock Airport would be that of an international one. In my region there was a fear that international traffic would be diverted from Shannon to an airport 90 miles up the road. This is far more serious. We know the desire of various international air companies to fly directly from capital to capital and to fly in and out of Dublin and ignore Shannon. Now we have our own international airline aiding the attempt to upgrade Dublin and downgrade Shannon and the western region. Other airlines will follow this precedent.
This is the seriousness of the problem. It is not the loss of £12,000 a week. It is not the fear of redundancies among the staff. It is not the financial loss or downgrading of the airport, but the fear of a precedent. Aer Lingus will explore this avenue further once they make the initial breakthrough and other airline companies will do the same. I appeal to the Minister to stop it now. He should contact Aer Lingus, open negotiations with them and ask them to keep the spirit of the agreement where Shannon was getting the maximum benefit from charter flights by their stopping on the outward journey.
I am sure Aer Lingus will claim that they are doing this to benefit tourists and people using the route. If a person is flying from Dublin it may be of benefit if he is domiciled in Dublin. However, if you are driving from the south to Dublin to go to Toronto it is not of much benefit to you to be dropped in Shannon on your way back if your car is in Dublin. The stop-over in Shannon on the return journey is merely a device to comply with the regulations. It is of no benefit to the airline passengers, to Shannon Airport, to Aer Lingus, to Aer Rianta or to anyone. I appeal to the Minister to stop it before it goes any further. It is serious for Shannon Airport, for the workers and for the whole region and, if it continues, there will be a very strong protest not alone in this House but in the region.
I should like to support Deputy Noonan in what he has said about the anxiety of constituents in Counties Clare and Limerick as a result of the decision of the Minister to grant Aer Lingus charter rights to fly direct to Toronto in competition with Trans-World Airways and to stop at Shannon on the east-bound journey only.
As a west of Ireland man the Minister of State should be familiar with the fact that we in the west want to have security of jobs. This re-routing of charter flights by Aer Lingus is seen in Shannon — and was seen yesterday at a meeting in Shannon at which workers asked the chief executive of Aer Rianta, Mr. Dully, for an assurance in regard to this charter — as the thin end of the wedge as far as security of employment is concerned in the sales and catering end of the Aer Rianta operation. At that meeting Mr. Dully told the workers that Aer Rianta had made representations to the Minister regarding this proposed flight by Aer Lingus. The workers themselves remember very well a statement by an Aer Lingus captain in which he maintained that Aer Lingus were losing money and were mad to stop at Shannon at all. If my information to the effect that some Aer Lingus pilots require more time in New York is accurate it seems odd that Aer Lingus should have changed their system of charter, now stopping on the east-bound flight, in order to accommodate a crew change. People in Shannon must look doubtingly at the intentions of our national airline if this is what they are endeavouring to do, starting off with a charter. I appreciate that, under international regulations scheduled flights must stop at Shannon on the east-bound and west-bound journeys but how long more will expire before that regulation is changed?
As far as continuity of employment is concerned we have had redundancies recently around Shannon Airport, and indeed in the Aer Rianta terminal itself there have been no replacements. The number of people employed at the terminal by Aer Rianta has dropped some 8 to 12 per cent. Therefore, workers employed in the sales and catering sections have become very nervous. There was at one time in Shannon an international restaurant of repute but its clientele and output have fallen. The workers are concerned that, with this flight and Aer Lingus not making use of the catering facilities, they will slowly but surely be made redundant and the kitchens become obsolete. I understand that the competitor on this charter, Trans-World Airways, have not taken up the sales and catering contract which they maintain is too expensive. Does it not look odd that Aer Lingus, our national airline, are not making use of the kitchens at Shannon? Surely they are the people to uphold the status of Shannon and, if they are having crew change problems, surely there should be more flexibility amongst their staff instead of downgrading the only international airport that we in Clare and the west generally recognise.
I wish to apologise for the absence of the Minister who is at a union conference in Cork. He was not aware that this question was being taken or he might have been able to make alternative arrangements. In the meantime I am standing in for him and have been briefed at very short notice because the question was taken at such short notice.
I shall reply to the points raised by both Deputies Noonan (Limerick East) and Carey. First of all I should make it quite clear that there is no question of this being the thin end of the wedge, as was contended by both Deputies. As far as we are concerned, we are totally committed to Shannon; there is no doubt whatsoever about that. As the House is aware, historically we always have been and always will be committed to Shannon International Airport. Indeed, this debate affords me an opportunity of emphasising, as did my predecessor in office, that Government policy in regard to Shannon Airport is that it is Ireland's sole trans-Atlantic gateway. It is firm Government policy that it should remain so. The health of Shannon Airport is vital not only for aviation purposes but also for its importance to the economic life of the Shannon and mid-west regions which cannot be overstressed. I am not prepared to countenance any action in my sphere of responsibility which could conceivably damage the interests of Shannon Airport. I should stress that this approach has been adopted by successive Governments. I wish specificially to affirm that the question of the compulsory Shannon stop by all airlines serving Ireland is not one on which I will countenanace any policy change.
This brings me to the nub of the question and to the points raised by Deputies Noonan and Carey. The rule on this matter is that scheduled flights must stop at Shannon Airport in both directions. The only exception to this rule is where safety is an issue and in those conditions the captain of the aircraft is the judge. As far as charters are concerned the rule is slightly different. In the late sixties, in the context of encouraging tourism by removing a cost penalty, it was decided that in respect of charter flights one stop only at Shannon, on either the outbound or inbound journey, would be required. This rule has remained unchanged since that time and applies, obviously, to all carriers operating trans-Atlantic charters. The series to which both Deputies Noonan and Carey referred is a charter series and Aer Lingus are stopping at Shannon on all flights on the return journey, complying fully with the rules as they stand.
I should say also that Aer Lingus are committed fully to Shannon, their scheduled flights stopping there in both directions and indeed they are the backbone of Shannon Airport. We must recognise that and I hope that Deputies Noonan and Carey recognise their commitment and the contribution they make to Shannon Airport. I hope that neither Deputy was voicing any criticism of or aspersion on our national airline and its contribution to Shannon Airport. Without Aer Lingus Shannon Airport would not be the viable international airport it is today. As the House knows, it has been Government policy to have three United States carriers providing services to Shannon, none of them going to Dublin at all. Again, that constitutes another contribution to Shannon Airport. I wish to stress also that there has been no change in the rules applying to both Irish and North-American carriers who are both obliged to stop at Shannon in either direction but not for chartered flights, as has been stated already.
The House will be aware that Aer Lingus's financial position on the North-Atlantic route has not proved profitable and we must bear this in mind whenever we discuss policy on anything else in regard to Aer Lingus requirements as far as their charter flights are concerned.
I shall be bringing the points raised by both Deputies to the immediate notice of the Minister. I shall ask him to examine the appropriateness of the rules in these particular circumstances and to discuss this matter with Aer Lingus. But I cannot give any commitment whatsoever to changing these. Certainly, the Minister will discuss this matter with Aer Lingus, because I know he will be concerned about the matter generally. We must concede that it is in the national interest that Aer Lingus be profitable. Where Aer Lingus make a case that they are complying with the rules — they are complying totally with the rules and I am sure are so doing to make their programme and charter flights viable — then we as a Government must bear in mind that we could not countenance a situation in which we would allow Aer Lingus engage in a loss-making operation. I am sure Deputies Carey and Noonan are aware of this. We will brief the Minister fully on this debate and bring the points raised by both Deputies to his attention early next week. We will ask him to discuss this matter with the senior executives of Aer Lingus to see if there is any possibility of improvement in the situation.
(Limerick East): Will the Minister communicate with both of us after the discussions?
I assure both Deputies that the Minister will be in direct communication with them in relation to this matter.
The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 26 May 1982.