Ryanair says 11 operators interested in new terminal

At least 11 international airport developers plan to make a submission to the Government expressing an interest in constructing a second terminal at Dublin Airport, Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary said yesterday.

He told the company's annual general meeting the airline had been in touch with all 11 to outline the no-frills carrier's vision for the new facility.

Among the groups contacted by Ryanair is the British Airports Authority (BAA), which owns seven British airports, including Heathrow, and has management contracts or stakes in 11 airports outside Britain, plus retail management contracts at two airports in the US.

TBI, which owns Belfast Airport as well as having a larger portfolio of airports in Britain, Scandinavia, and North and Central America, is also due to lodge an expression of interest.

Peel Holdings and the Morrisson group, which both run airports in Europe, plan to submit proposals for the second terminal. Australian group Macquarie is another group set to make a submission as is "one Asia and two other American operators", according to Mr O'Leary. The identities of the remaining three interested parties are not known.

Mr O'Leary told shareholders that growth in the second quarter of Ryanair's financial year had continued in the same vein as the first quarter. Last month, the company reported a 68 per cent surge in pre-tax profits between April and June.

"Business continues to be robust with stronger-than-expected traffic numbers, and lower-than-expected yields," he said.

He added the company was comfortable with analysts' expectations for the full year. Analysts expect the airline to post profits of around €200 million in the 12 months to March 31st, 2003.

The only "blackspot" for the company is the Irish market, said Mr O'Leary. He said a Ryanair plan outlining how the airline could bring an additional two million passengers to Dublin each year if low-cost facilities were available at the port, had been dismissed by Aer Rianta. And a proposal to bring an extra 250,000 passengers per annum into Shannon had received no response almost a month after it was submitted to Aer Rianta in Shannon.

The airline's plans to double the number of passengers it carries, from 15 million per annum to 30 million, in the next "four to five years" are on track. It is currently in talks with nine potential European base airports for next year as well as 15 airports who were interested in being included on Ryanair's route schedule.