The new Dublin Airport authority, which has replaced Aer Rianta, is expected to push for major cost reductions at the airport and may offer a voluntary severance package to staff within months. Emmet Oliver reports.
The new authority took over the assets and liabilities of Aer Rianta yesterday following months of controversy over the changes contained in the State Airports Act.
On Thursday, departing Aer Rianta chairman Mr Noel Hanlon strongly criticised the terms of the Act, which was sponsored by Mr Brennan, the former Minister for Transport.
While authority chairman Mr Gary McGann and his board have yet to draw up a business plan for Dublin Airport, it is understood that major cost reductions could be on the cards.
"There has been an intensive ongoing review of costs at the company over recent months and that is likely to reach some kind of conclusion under the new board," said an aviation source yesterday.
Mr McGann has so far declined to list priorities in detail but he said weeks ago that relieving congestion was one issue he would concentrate on. Relentless cost control is also expected to be a priority for the Smurfit executive.
While airport management is a labour-intensive activity, staff numbers at Aer Rianta have been falling in recent years. However, costs have risen because of rising salaries.
According to the 2003 annual report, numbers dropped from 3,431 to 3,387, while in 2002 they were 3,438. While the vast majority of staff are engaged in airport activities, almost 700 work in the Great Southern Hotel chain, with some 351 staff involved in Aer Rianta International.
The new authority is likely to want to reduce these numbers further by offering staff attractive voluntary severance terms, although no numbers have been discussed yet at board level.
Yesterday, the authority announced that Mr Oliver Cussen had become acting chief executive until a permanent appointment could be made. The appointment of Mr Cussen, who is currently corporate affairs director and company secretary, takes place with immediate effect.
"It is the board's intention to launch the public process immediately to find a new chief executive. The former chief executive of Aer Rianta, Ms Margaret Sweeney, will remain available to the company in a consultancy role for a short period of time. The board would like to thank Ms Sweeney for her contribution to the company over the past seven years and to wish her well in the future," said a statement.
The State Airports Act stipulates that the next chief executive must be selected via an open competition.
