Shannon Airport stands ready to accept up to 5 million passengers a year, in order to help deal with the passenger cap at Dublin, the Midwest airport’s CEO has told the Government.
Currently Shannon handles around 2 million passengers a year.
But during a meeting today with the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless, Shannon Airport Group boss, Mary Considine said the airport could facilitate up to 10 million passengers with an upgrade to the current Terminal.
Dublin Airport is currently working under a limit of 32 million passengers a year, put in place as part of planning permission for the second terminal in 2007.
However, that cap has been reached and is set to be breached this year by up to 1 million passengers.
The aviation regulator has, as a result, put limits on the number of airline seats in and out of Dublin that can be sold this winter and next summer.
James Lawless, who is responsible for regional airports, has repeatedly suggested that Cork, Shannon and Knock could be used to deal with the overflow from Dublin while the capital’s airport seeks permission to lift the cap.
“Evidence shows that there is demand from Irish people to travel from our regional airports, and for tourists to arrive directly into the regions, when these services are provided,” he said following today’s meeting.
“I was pleased to see passenger numbers were up 9% across our regional airports last year and 8% to date this year. Cork Airport alone is up 11%, with Shannon Airport up 7%.”
However, airlines have dismissed the suggestion, saying that most passenger demand is for flights in and out of Dublin.
The discussions around the cap came as the Government announced funding totalling over €4.2m to support Shannon and Cork airports this year.
The money is being allocated under the new Regional State Airports Sustainability Programme.
It aims to support Regional State airports to reach their carbon reduction targets and build resilience against climate change.
“I am pleased to announce these funding allocations, which will contribute towards capital investment in Solar PV Farms at both Shannon and Cork airports,” Minister Lawless said.
“These projects, the first of their kind to be funded at our regional airports, when complete will provide up to 25% of these airports’ current electrical demand from renewable energy. The arrays will also enable future expansion, allowing airports to decrease reliance on energy from the national grid over time by increasing capacity for on-site generation.”
“A water system upgrade project is also being supported at Shannon Airport. In addition, the replacement of diesel-powered ground power units with electric models at Cork Airport are being supported.”
Mary Considine welcomed the €1.9m that Shannon is to receive.
“The government support announced today by Minister Lawless is much appreciated and will assist us on our journey at Shannon Airport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050,” she said.
“It will augment our efforts to implement innovative solutions that enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and promote sustainable practices throughout our operations.”
Welcoming the €2.284 million towards sustainability projects at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy, Cork Airport’s Managing Director, said work on installing the new solar farm and electric ground power units will take place near the end of next year.
