asked the Minister for Transport and Power what is the present position regarding the services on the Manchester-Brussels route operated by Aer Lingus; and if he will make a statement on the difficulties that have arisen and the efforts that have been made to overcome them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Aer Lingus Manchester-Brussels Route.
5.
The position of the services operated by Aer Lingus on the route Manchester-Brussels is that the Belgian authorities, acting within the terms of the Air Transport Agreement between the two countries, have cancelled the Aer Lingus rights to carry traffic between these two points on their Dublin-Brussels service. This traffic is now confined to a Belgian carrier and a British carrier who has just entered on the route but who had rights predating those granted provisionally to Aer Lingus in 1955. The decision of the Belgian authorities militates against the interests of Aer Lingus who had been building up the business on the route but was the direct result of the entry of the British carrier. The possibility of the exercise of rights by the British carrier was recognised at the time the Agreement was entered into in 1955.
Representations have been made in relation to the position but without success. As a result of the Belgian decision Aer Lingus have had to revise their programme of services to Brussels by reducing the number of services via Manchester and introducing a non-stop service between Dublin and Brussels.