Cork airport board to study key report

Members of the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) will today be asked to consider a report from an aviation consultancy firm which recommends that the airport carry €50 million to €60 million of the €220 million airport debt arising from the construction of a new terminal and other development.

However, The Irish Timesunderstands that many members of the 14-member board are concerned that the report focuses solely on the issue of the terminal debt and does not address other issues, including the future development of the terminal.

According to an informed source, the report makes no mention of any extension of the runway at Cork, which aviation sources believe is essential if the airport is to be able to accommodate the larger aircraft used on transatlantic routes following the opening up of transatlantic business.

The report also makes no mention of the issues of covered walkways at the terminal, while it also proposes the demolition of the old terminal building, which Ryanair had sought to purchase, to make way for extra parking spaces for aircraft at the airport, which has seen its business grow by 4 per cent last year.

It is also understood that the business plan drawn up by the consultants does not address the issue of pension rights for the employees, many of whom are believed to be increasingly concerned about their pension plans following the decision to break up Aer Rianta into three separate companies to run Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

The €220 million owed by the CAA to the Dublin Airport Authority following the break-up of Aer Rianta consists of some €90 million owed on the new terminal building and a further €90 million on new ancillary facilities as well as a long-standing debt of €40 million.

However, over the past few months a majority of the board members of the CAA have held to the position promised by the then minister for transport, Séamus Brennan, in July 2003, that Cork Airport would begin its independent existence of Dublin debt-free after the break-up of Aer Rianta.

Last February, the CAA wrote to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to convey its opposition to a proposal that Cork would pay €100 million, a figure which was presented at a meeting between the Taoiseach and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, with CAA chairman Joe Gantly.