D-Day for Galway Airport – but Cabinet is not for turning

Date Published: 25-May-2011

Today is D-Day for Galway Airport as its board makes a last ditch attempt to prevent the Government from ‘pulling the plug’ on funding, which would close the facility – but sources close to the Cabinet say the Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar is ‘not for turning’.

Representatives of the board of the airport and Galway Chamber, its majority shareholder, as well as all Galway Oireachtas members, will meet with Minister Varadkar and officials later today (Thursday) – it is the last chance to persuade the Government to support the airport through operational subvention (OPEX) funds. Without over €1 million OPEX, the facility will not be able to remain open.

Department of Transport officials held a briefing with Galway’s Labour and Fine Gael TDs on Tuesday where they expressed scepticism about the airport’s revised business plan, which is premised on almost doubling passenger numbers as well as more cost cutting.

Sources close to Cabinet say the decision to close Galway Airport has already been taken at a Cabinet meeting this week. “The Government has already made the decision to close the airport – they may fund a ‘winding down’ process but they will not give the OPEX funding,” the source said. This is in line with the Minister’s recent public utterances against providing state support for certain airports.

But Galway West TD Brian Walsh (FG) said this was not the case. “No decision has yet been made – the Cabinet is meeting next Monday and I belive that’s when it will be discussed,” he said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.