Passenger numbers at Shannon Airport could double to four million a year under the management of the new airport authority for Shannon, the chairman of the designate Shannon Airport Authority has claimed, writes Gordon Deegan

Mr Pat Shanahan said Shannon would become a low-cost hub to compete with Dublin and Cork airports. He was outlining his vision for the future of Shannon airport to members of the Mid-West Regional Authority in Tipperary yesterday.

Mr Shanahan - who is also a current director of Aer Rianta - said becoming a low-cost hub would require a change in Shannon's business model, whereby more income would be generated through retail and property as opposed to landing fees.

Appointed last October as designate chairman, Mr Shanahan, along with the airport authority, is expected to be formally installed to manage Shannon airport over the summer.

Mr Shanahan said that passenger numbers under the new airport authority could double to four million a year.

He said that in the shorter term, Shannon needed to address the deficit in services to Europe and the UK.

The designate chairman said that compared to Dublin and Cork, Shannon's catchment area was limited.

Mr Shanahan said that the infrastructural deficit in the Mid-West is one of a number of issues that needed to be addressed prior to the re-negotiation of the bi-lateral agreement with the US.

The re-negotiation is expected to end the Shannon stop-over on a phased basis, while providing Aer Lingus with additional routes to the US.

According to Mr Shanahan, another issue that needs to be resolved is Aer Lingus's commitment to Shannon. He said that the carrier has a certain amount of resentment having to stop at Shannon as part of the current agreement.

Outlining the need for Shannon to provide year round services to cities in the US, Mr Shanahan said that if there was any deterioration it would have significant consequences for economic development.