Regional airports to get €2.7m in Government aid

Regional airports are getting €2.7 million in Government aid, bringing to €3.9 million the total that the State will hand out to them this year.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, announced on Wednesday that his department is giving Donegal, Kerry, Knock and Waterford airports a total of €2.7 million to boost safety and security.

The grants include €870,000 earmarked for Waterford Airport, which currently has no scheduled passenger services, but the Government will only pay this money if those flights resume.

The airports will spend the cash on closed-circuit TV monitoring, repairs to aircraft taxiways, aprons and perimeter roads, upgrading electrical systems and winter equipment.

Wednesday’s grants follow €1.2 million given to the airports in April, meaning that they will get a total of €3.9 million in taxpayer-funded aid this year.

Knock Airport in Co Mayo will be the biggest beneficiary, getting €1.3 million from the current round. Donegal will receive €341,000 and Kerry €205,000.

Waterford Airport lost regular passenger services when VLM Airlines filed for bankruptcy in June. Its management is seeking replacement flights, particularly into the UK.

“These exchequer grant allocations are being made under the regional airports programme 2015-2019, which was approved last year by the EU Commission and administered by my department,” Mr Ross said.