Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 February 2013
245. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the efforts that have been made to assist Waterford Airport replace the loss of Aer Arann services to London and Manchester since the start of 2013. [7586/13]
View answerIt is the responsibility of airports (be they State airports or regional airports) to secure routes and negotiate deals with airlines. As such, it is a commercial matter for the airports and airlines themselves and not a matter in which I have any function. However, Tourism Ireland work closely with airports and airlines on developing new routes to drive demand for air services from key overseas markets and to help maintain our vital route network. This work is undertaken having regard to state aid rules and the need to ensure that we do not distort competition between airports.
I understand from Waterford Airport that since the withdrawal of Aer Lingus Regional services by Aer Arann in January, it has continued to service Flybe services between Waterford and Birmingham (with single transaction bookings to and from European and UK destinations via Birmingham) as well as providing a base for the Irish Coast Guard Search & Rescue service and servicing a range of general aviation activity.
I know that Waterford Airport is also continuing to work to replace the Aer Lingus Regional services that were withdrawn and the airport is confident that the London route in particular is an attractive opportunity for an airline with strong usage both inbound and outbound with high yields due to a high proportion of business usage.
Waterford Airport has received and continues to receive significant Exchequer support under the Irish Government’s Regional Airports Capital Expenditure Grant (Capex) scheme and the Operational expenditure subvention (Opex) scheme. Over the past six years (2007 to 2012), around €14m has been provided to Waterford Airport by the State under these two schemes and the airport continues to be supported under these schemes in 2013.
