Ryanair News

News Release

17.01.12

Ryanair Condemns Varadkar Decision to Keep DAA Airports in Public Ownership

 
IRISH TOURISM DOOMED TO MORE GOLD PLATED FACILITIES, HIGHER COSTS AND TRAFFIC DECLINES
 
Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline today (Tues 17th Jan) condemned Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar’s decision to keep the three DAA airports in public ownership. This public ownership has delivered four consecutive years of traffic declines, and enormous waste on Taj Mahal terminal facilities at Shannon, Cork and Dublin airports and record declines in traffic and job numbers, even while the dead hand of the Dept of Transport ordered the Regulator to approve a 40% increase in Dublin Airport’s fees, and a 33% increase in Shannon’s fees in 2010. 
 
Ryanair pointed out that the only recent growth at Irish airports has taken place at privately owned airports such as Knock, where thanks to lower costs and private enterprise, new routes, traffic and job growth were delivered in 2011, during which Knock Airport grew by 11%.
 
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
 
“The public ownership of the DAA airports in recent years has been a disaster for Irish tourism and jobs. €50m was wasted on a new terminal at Shannon , €200m at Cork and €1.2bn on the white elephant T2 at Dublin Airport. While this waste was going on, the Dept of Transport was ordering the Regulator to award Dublin Airport a 40% increase in airport charges in 2010, and protecting the DAA, while it raised Shannon’s fees by 33% in November 2010. Over the last five years in public ownership, the DAA monopoly and their downtown office the Dept of Transport have delivered record declines in Irish traffic, tourism and jobs, even though Ryanair was growing traffic by 50% from 50m passengers in 2007 to over 75m in 2011.
 
Pax (m)
2007
2008
2009
2010
*2011
Change
Dublin
23.3
23.5
20.5
18.4
18.4  
-21%
Cork
3.2
3.3
2.8
2.4
2.1
-34%
Shannon
3.6
3.2
2.8
1.8
1.6
-56%
Total DAA
30.0
29.9
26.1
22.6
22.1
-26%
Ryanair**
50.9
58.6
66.5
72.1
75.2
+50%
                          * 2011 figures are estimates based on Jan-Nov actual
                        ** Ryanair figures are to March year end

“As the success stories at Knock and Ryanair demonstrate, private enterprise works, whereas public ownership of airports, particularly where it is mismanaged by the Dept of Transport doesn’t. Leo Varadkar’s decision to keep the DAA airports in public ownership condemns them and Irish tourism to more monopoly protectionism, higher costs and traffic declines. Minister Varadkar talks about change and reform, but when push comes to shove, he’s failed to deliver it.” 

 


Ryanair footer