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WATERFORD AIRPORT OFFICIALS have had “detailed discussions” with several carriers about securing a new route to the UK after the hub’s sole scheduled service was dumped last year.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross this week said he was “very optimistic” the airport would get another commercial operator following the departure of Belgian airline VLM and its London Luton flights eight months ago.
Waterford has struggled to attract airlines, mainly because its runway is too short for aircraft larger than small, turboprop planes that carry about 50 passengers.
The airport received a €1 million state grant last year to help cover operational costs as part of a €2.7 million state fund made available to regional airports.
An additional grant of €870,000 has also been earmarked for it as part of the regional airports programme. However, management won’t receive that money until it resumes scheduled passenger services.
Ross will meet with management at Waterford Airport tomorrow as the company enters negotiations with potential replacement carriers.
The minister wouldn’t confirm what airlines Waterford has been talking to, citing commercial sensitivity, only that he was visiting to “discuss the future of the airport”.
The airport’s chief executive, Desmond O’Flynn, told Fora tomorrow’s meeting will be the first time the airport has sat down with the minister since VLM pulled out last summer, although there has been regular correspondence between management and transport officials.
He declined to answer questions put to him over the phone, but the airport later issued an email response through its press office. It confirmed it had ”detailed discussions with a number of operators to resume a series of scheduled air services to the UK in the course of 2017″.
‘Specific discussions’
The chief executive of Waterford Chamber of Commerce, Nick Donnelly, said the issue of the airport’s future is “sensitive at the minute” because of “very specific discussions” with carriers to succeed VLM.
He stressed that although Waterford doesn’t currently have commercial flights, ”the airport is still a fully operational entity” that handles private jets and a coastguard helicopter.
“Since the departure of VLM, management and staff at the airport have been trying to examine every option possible,” he said.
Donnelly added he was confident that “everybody is making a massive effort to secure” a new route and that “no stone has been left unturned”.
Viability
Waterford Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane said that if a runway extension isn’t built in the medium- to long-term, “the viability of the airport will come into play”.
“We’ve seen lots of carriers come in on a temporary basis and then they go again,” he said. “The reason why is because airlines are limited to what aircraft can land and take off. That level of restriction in a very competitive environment is obviously very, very difficult and unsustainable.”
It has long been acknowledged that a runway expansion at Waterford would make it a much more viable business.
However, state money can’t be used for airport infrastructure, so any government grants received cannot be used to build a longer runway.
Cullinane said one possible option for funding an extension would be a partnership between private investors and the local council.
“The local authority could take equity in it along with a private-sector consortium,” he said.
Donnelly said that nobody would deny that a runway extension would be beneficial, but “the reality of it is that we have what we have and discussions with operators are around what we currently offer”.
Waterford Airport said in its statement that “it continues to seek both local and regional funding for the runway extension”.
Location
Another problem facing Waterford is its close proximity to other airports. It is roughly a two-hour drive from facilities at Cork and Dublin.
But Cullinane said there is a clear appetite from businesses in the area to see the airport as a fully functioning operation.
He said a connection with London was important for manufacturing businesses in the area and that it would make it easier “to transport executives from different multinational companies” located in the county.
The absence of a direct access to the UK “puts us at an un-level playing field,” he said.
“Nobody is asking the state to prop something up that’s not viable. I certainly would not do so,” he said.
“Having said that, there’s an obligation on the state to make sure that from an economic perspective and social perspective a region has an airport that can service the needs of industry and of people who live in the area.”
Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie
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Last time I saw that happen was here with a BOI Insurance sponsored story. It came up late at night and in minutes all the comments lashed out at the bank. In an hour the article went away quitely in the night.
Bankers really do not know how much they are hated.
Sure what did they expect being financial terrorists and all
Financial terrorists, good one!
Freedom fighters
JP Morgan have destroyed a lot of countries in the world, greedy sons of b****es that will stop at nothing for more wealth. They are one of the 14 banks in the us that own the FEDThey own companies all over the world. There the biggest shareholders in BP, and a number of key mining and oil companies. They don’t just do banking. They are corrupt and trade inside illegially. They cause more misery in the world than some of the worst governments.
Well said ned, its been pushed by some countries and companies that the dollar should end as a world reserve currency. This would put a major obstacle in the way of JPM and the corrupt federal reserve. The dollar has been washed away to the extent its not even worth paper and the only way to keep it as a world reserve is corrupt low tactics.
They also funded the Nazis. Their major shareholders are the puppet masters.
if you’ve seen the movie “wall street” made in 1987. At the very start the first lines of the movie are “The biggest mistake we ever made was letting Nixon get off the gold standard”. This refers to 1972 when the dollar was backed by gold,
To explain after WW2, the dollar was the world currency and if you had a dollar bill the US Federal Reserve would of given you gold instead of your dollar bill if you wanted to cash it in. The Nixon shock was when france wanted to cash in the dollars they had for gold and the US FED didn’t have enough gold to give them.
The Nixon shock was when he convinced the middle east countries to trade oil for dollars only. saving the dollar and creating the petrodollar. Since then the only value dollars have are the paper there printed. the dollar is going to crashing down. like MrKnow said its only worth paper…
Russia have introduced a bill to ban dollars from use in the country. Many more countries are following suit. The dollar is dying………… But you won’t find that news on the Journal or any other irish or UK media sources.
@Dairmuid very well said, a lot of people don’t understand how the petrodollar works, when we hear about the fall of saddam and gadaffi we hear the bull that the western media feed us! But their is a way bigger story to why these leaders and their countries fell and thats why the petrodollar needs to end.
Russia and china are being slammed because of their calls for the US dollar to end as a world reserve and their (especially russia) plans to ban dollars and the depending if it to trade. They know the dollar will eventually end its domance and if economy’s around the world don’t prepare they will crash with the dollars eventual end.
China is thought to have the biggest stock of gold, they also own the biggest percentage of American dept. By all right the yen should be a world currency because they can backup their dept, don’t see why the world should suffer economic disaster because the US wants the dollar as a world reserve.
No doubt we will see more sabotage and sanctions put on countries that threaten the dollars role in the world, I suspect Russia, china and the US will enter a eco war to change things. I also think the free trade with Europe is too little too late and will impact Europe in a negative way when the dollar falls from glory.
People have different theories on this and rightfully so, thats just mine.
I love them and have shares :) they make me money and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.
JP Morgan, only outdone for cheating, manipulating and stealing, by Goldman Sachs.
A book well worth reading : Money and power : How Goldman Sachs came to rule the world.
“From the outside, Goldman Sachs is a perfect company. The Goldman PR machine loudly declares it to be smarter, more ethical, and more profitable than all of its competitors. Behind closed doors, however, ! etc, etc”
Author , William Cohen worked on Wall Street for 17 years.
JPM
S C U M of the earth
Just check out the total in fines over just the last few years, for FRAUD and market manipulation.
What did they expect ??
A group hug ?
#fail
A rake?
What’s the conversion rate for the rake? How many rakes to the pile?
Shouldnt bother interacting with the nobody keyboard warriors. Don’t interact with those beneath you they are simply inferior and worthless
Well done Kenneth posted like a real “keyboard warrior”
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