http://insideireland.ie/2011/04/08/ryanair-welcomes-end-to-aer-arann-pso-routes-14480/
Ryanair welcomes end to Aer Arann PSO routes
April 8, 2011Share Tweet
Ryanair has welcomed revelations that Aer Arann will be ceasing flights from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin when PSO subsidies finish in July.
Aer Arann Chairman Pádraig Ó Céidigh said on Thursday that it will no longer be financially viable for the airline to operate the Galway-Dublin route after 21 July, while it is currently not possible to book any flights on aerarann.com from either Knock or Sligo to Dublin on dates after 21 July.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “It is no surprise that Aer Arann has decided to close its subsidised routes from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin the minute the subsidies ran out.
“Irish taxpayers have wasted more than €100m in subsidy payments, principally to Aer Arann, over recent years and not one of these Aer Arann routes will survive one day after these enormous subsidies run out.
“The future of Irish aviation and tourism depends on bringing passengers and visitors to the main and regional airports on viable routes from the UK and Continental Europe,” McNamara added.
The Fianna Fáil-Green government announced in January that services between Dublin and Derry, Galway, Sligo and Knock will no longer receive public money to help them operate.
The manager of Sligo Airport told RTÉ that talks are ongoing with the Department of Transport to secure some form of financial aid for Sligo Airport.
Joe Corcoran said that while the airport, which employs more than 30 people, is not wholly dependent on the two daily flights to Dublin operated by Aer Arann, the ending of the PSO contracts will be a huge blow to it.
Ryanair welcomes end to Aer Arann PSO routes
April 8, 2011Share Tweet
Ryanair has welcomed revelations that Aer Arann will be ceasing flights from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin when PSO subsidies finish in July.
Aer Arann Chairman Pádraig Ó Céidigh said on Thursday that it will no longer be financially viable for the airline to operate the Galway-Dublin route after 21 July, while it is currently not possible to book any flights on aerarann.com from either Knock or Sligo to Dublin on dates after 21 July.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “It is no surprise that Aer Arann has decided to close its subsidised routes from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin the minute the subsidies ran out.
“Irish taxpayers have wasted more than €100m in subsidy payments, principally to Aer Arann, over recent years and not one of these Aer Arann routes will survive one day after these enormous subsidies run out.
“The future of Irish aviation and tourism depends on bringing passengers and visitors to the main and regional airports on viable routes from the UK and Continental Europe,” McNamara added.
The Fianna Fáil-Green government announced in January that services between Dublin and Derry, Galway, Sligo and Knock will no longer receive public money to help them operate.
The manager of Sligo Airport told RTÉ that talks are ongoing with the Department of Transport to secure some form of financial aid for Sligo Airport.
Joe Corcoran said that while the airport, which employs more than 30 people, is not wholly dependent on the two daily flights to Dublin operated by Aer Arann, the ending of the PSO contracts will be a huge blow to it.
