This article is from page 8 of the 2006-08-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THE Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) is set to lose out on €17 million to the end of this year as a result of World Airways transferring its troops operations to Germany.
Last week, the SAA confirmed that US troop numbers going through Shannon have dropped by almost two-thirds in the past month.
As a result of World Airways transferring its operation to Leipzig at the end of June, the number of US troops going through Shannon dropped 62 per cent from 31,333 in June to 11,670 in July.
Until the end of June, record levels of troops were going through Shannon, with 209,074 using the airport between January and June.
This represents a 36 per cent rise on the corresponding period last year.
The troop business for the first six months is estimated to have generated €26 million in revenues for the SAA and delivered €4.5 million in profits.
If current trends continue and troops numbers continue to be only one-third of what they were in the first six months, the SAA is looking at a drop in revenues of €17 million.
Yesterday, Senator Brendan Daly (FF) told The Clare People , “The transfer of troops is a temporary setback, but I wouldn’t see it as a long-term issue.
“The priority for Shannon now is to address its cost base to ensure that it can expand its operations.
“I am confident that the finances of Shannon Airport are secure.”
Senator Daly said that the troop business for Shannon “was always liable to fluctuate and was unpredictable, and not something you could build the airport’s future upon.
“Talks on the future of Shannon have been going on for a number of months and I would hope that the talks be expedited now to secure the long-term future of the airport,” he added.
His party colleague, Timmy Dooley, commented, “The troop traffic has been good business and there was always an expectation that it was open to change.”
However, Senator Dooley said that the recent decision by a jury at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to clear five anti-war activists of the $2.5 million damage to a US navy plane in February 2003 “has made the job of airport management to win the business back much more difficult”.
Senator Dooley said, “The courts have effectively given free rein to people to get away with that type of activity and that will play on the minds of those airlines that transport troops through Shannon.”
Last week, the army and an additional 40 Gardai were drafted in to protect Shannon from threats by anti-war activists to close it down.