Airport staff face gloomy wait on their future

Date Published: 02-Jun-2011

BY CIARAN TIERNEY

The 62 members of staff at Galway Airport are facing an anxious Bank Holiday weekend as the Government decision which will seal their fate is set to be made on Tuesday morning.

Members of the Cabinet will meet in Dublin to decide whether or not to provide the €1.7 million in operation subvention funding which is required to keep the Carnmore facility open until the end of this year.

Uncertainty over the future of the airport is already leading to a crisis in confidence amongst potential travellers and the indications from the Government are that the State subsidy will be brought to an end, forcing the closure of a facility which has provided links to the UK since 1987.

The short runway has prevented Galway Airport from catering for jet aircraft which could link the city with European destinations and, with international facilities at Shannon and Knock, the long-term viability of the facility has been called into question.

“If we don’t get Government support, we are talking about airport closure,” said Galway Airport Manager Joe Walsh yesterday. “Our future depends on Tuesday’s decision. We have not been officially told that the decision will be made on Tuesday, but we’ve heard it through the media.

“It is very difficult for all of our staff. Some people have been working here for over 20 years and they have done an exceptional job throughout that time. But the view of the Government seems to be that we have too many airports.”

He said it was ironic that Galway Airport, which currently has two direct links with London, was being threatened with closure while the new Government expresses a commitment to boosting tourism numbers.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.