Airport board determined to secure facility’s future

Date Published: 15-Jun-2011

Galway Airport this week commenced sourcing alternative streams of investment to secure its long-term future after the Government decided to cease funding it from January of next year.

The board of the airport and its majority shareholder, Galway Chamber, has confirmed it will hire “specialists” in finance and investment, who will help the airport fundraise from private third-party investors, businesses and local authorities, Galway City and County Councils.

In a joint statement this week, airport management and the Chamber said they were “confident about the future for Galway Airport”, even though they had consistently said the airport would close if state subsidy was not forthcoming.

They also both jointly rejected the inference by the Minister for Transport and Tourism, Leo Varadkar, that Galway Airport is not a strategic asset and therefore not important to the economic development of the west region.

“In his announcement last week Minister Varadkar said that he was going to concentrate on supporting ‘strategic’ airports and what he was saying by not supporting Galway is that Galway is not a strategic airport. Well we completely reject that and we are reiterating that Galway Airport is a strategic airport in supporting business and jobs and promoting tourism in Galway City, County and the West. It is a strategic asset because of the economic impact it has.

Is this an indicator of how the West of Ireland and Galway is going to be treated? We have to make a stand,” said Managing Director Joe Walsh.

See this week’s Connacht Tribune for full story.