Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 May 2014
24. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress that has been made on passenger numbers in Shannon Airport following the decision of the Government to separate Shannon from the Dublin Airport Authority. [21524/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraA major consideration for the Government in its decision to separate Shannon airport from the DAA was the serious decline of passenger traffic at the airport over recent years. Shannon airport was loss making from 2008 to 2012 and passenger numbers plummeted by over 60% from a peak in 2007 of 3.62 million to 1.39 million in 2012. A consistent decline on this scale was always going to be challenging to address.
The immediate priority for the new board and management of the restructured SAA was to halt this decline. While passenger traffic continued to decline in the first five months of 2013, June of last year witnessed the first monthly growth in passengers at Shannon in over five years and this trend continued with the period June to December showing a 6% increase on the same period in 2012. The US market proved to be the most successful in growth terms with traffic up 37% during the peak summer season.
With the initial focus first and foremost on arresting the previous annual traffic decline, the overall outturn for 2013 of 1.4 million passengers marginally exceeded the outturn for 2012 of 1.39m. This reversal of the serious slide of the previous five years is a major achievement for Shannon in its first year as an independent airport.
The passenger numbers between January and the end of April this year of 348,304 are an increase of 6.8% on the same period in 2013. With the commencement of new routes and increased services, I know that Shannon airport is looking forward to new and sustainable growth of its passenger numbers this year and beyond.
