THE DEPARTMENT of Transport, Tourism and Sport has poured cold water on a proposal from Clare County Council that it should fund a pilot scheme next year that would involve free flights being operated by Aer Lingus from the UK to Shannon airport.
At the October meeting of Clare County Council, Fine Gael councillor Gabriel Keating put forward a motion requesting that Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar, Government departments and State agencies should promote and support a scheme to introduce free flights from the UK to Shannon.
Mr Keating’s motion said the flights should operate next year from March 19th to April 16th and from September 17th to October 15th as a “promotional and marketing ploy”.
This should be done by “using our national airline [Aer Lingus]”.
The motion received all-party support and a proposal was submitted to the Minister and other agencies, Mr Keating said yesterday.
“We want to get people in after St Patrick’s Day and the All-Ireland finals and promote the area – that’s why we chose those dates. The UK is a very important visitor market for us,” Mr Keating said.
However, his motion looks set to meet with rejection. A spokesman for the department indicated the Government was unlikely to support the proposal.
In a statement released to The Irish Times, the spokesman said: “While the councillor’s suggestion would obviously be one way of promoting the region, it could also pose serious difficulties under EU competition law.
“There would also be a considerable cost to the exchequer in covering the cost of the free seats.
“However, if any airline were to present such a proposal, Tourism Ireland would be happy to discuss the matter further.”
The spokesman added that a €9 million joint marketing initiative with private sector groups was under way to promote tourism in Ireland this year.
The Dublin Airport Authority, which is responsible for Shannon airport, declined to comment.