ABOUT 200 Aer Lingus jobs at Dublin Airport may be affected by a decision of the European Commission to open up competition for aircraft handling at major EU airports.
The Commission wants to exclude the "dominant" carrier at each airport from the business. Aer Lingus employs about 200 handlers at Dublin.
The European Parliament opposes the proposal but, if it goes through, a spokesman for Aer Lingus said the company could be forced out of the handling business in Dublin. The spokesman stressed, however, that the liberalisation would throw up opportunities for Aer Lingus. "On balance, we are in favour of liberalisation," he said.
SIPTU, which represents the Dublin handlers, has had meetings in Brussels with unions from other EU airports to discuss the implications of the Commission's plan. The unions fear permanent jobs will be replaced by low cost operators bringing in handlers only as they are needed.
The Commission's draft directive says airports with an annual throughput of three million passengers or more must open up handling to competition by January 1st, 1999. This must be independent of the largest user of the airport - in the case of Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus.
The directive allows for the possibility of the airport authority becoming involved in the business. A spokesman for Aer Rianta, which operates Dublin Airport, did not rule out any option but said Aer Rianta had no particular expertise in the area. But industry sources have speculated Aer Rianta might form a joint venture with a specialist handler such as Servisair.
The Aer Lingus spokesman said it was too early to say what effect the directive would have on jobs at Dublin Airport.