Ryanair News

 
News Release
14.10.09

Ireland's 3 Major Airlines Call on Government to "Axe The Tourist Tax".

 
 
The Chief Executives of Ireland’s three largest airlines, Aer Lingus, Cityjet and Ryanair today (14th Oct 2009) called on the Irish Government to axe the €10 tourist tax, which has had such a devastating impact on traffic and visitor numbers at Ireland’s airports since it was introduced on 1st April last.
 
Calling today upon the Government to remove this tax, Christoph Mueller (Aer Lingus), Geoffrey O’Byrne-White (Cityjet) and Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) made the following points:
 
1.      Since the €10 tourist tax was imposed, the monthly traffic at Dublin Airport has fallen by up to 15%.
2.      In 2009 Dublin Airport will lose some 3m passengers, as traffic falls from 24m to approx. 21m.
3.      The Belgian and Dutch Governments have recently scrapped their passenger taxes in order to stimulate tourism.
4.      The Greek and Spanish Governments have also reduced airport charges (in some cases to zero) to stimulate tourism.
 

 
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