Vol. 513 No. 1
202 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the proposals, if any, she has to bring air services in the south east region to a standard consistent with a modern economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1639/00]
It is my policy to facilitate and encourage a wide range of reliable, regular and competitive commercial air services to and from airports in Ireland in the interests of Irish tourism, trade and industry.
Under European Union air transport liberalisation measures, any air carrier licensed by a European economic area – EEA – member state – the 15 member states of the European Union plus Norway and Iceland – may introduce air services on any route within the EEA without any Government or EU controls, subject only to the availability of airport slots at either end of the route and overall safety considerations. As a result, the provision of air services on any particular route is essentially a matter for the commercial judgment of the individual airline.
At present, British Airways Express operates a daily service from Waterford to Stansted Airport. In addition, British Airways Express also provided a Saturday flight to Manchester last summer and I understand that this service will be provided again this summer. Scotair also provided a weekend service to Luton during the peak 1999 season.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Government made funding of £375,000 available in 1998-9 for Waterford Airport for the development of projects including a runway overlay, upgrading of equipment and the provision of a hangar. In addition, Waterford Airport received over £250,000 for marketing and promotion of the airport over the period 1996-9. I propose to provide further assistance this year to the regional airports, including Waterford Airport, for promotion and marketing efforts.
