AER LINGUS will not use the new US customs and immigration pre-clearance facility at Shannon airport for its transatlantic services until the middle of 2010 at the earliest and only if it can get out of existing leases and arrangements at US airports.
Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington has told Minister of State Tony Killeen that the airline has no plans to use the new Shannon facility until a similar service in Dublin comes into operation next year.
The Clare TD had asked Mr Barrington to outline his reasons for not utilising the Shannon service even though three US carriers have already signed up to use it.
The €21 million pre-clearance facility, which opened in early August, carries out customs, immigration and agricultural checks at Shannon which allows travellers to be then regarded as “US domestic passengers” and as such they are not required to endure queues and rigorous checks when they arrive in the US.
Continental Airlines, Delta and US Airways have already signed up to use the service while British Airways has confirmed plans to use it during a stopover twice a day on its new London City Airport to New York business route starting at the end of this month.
According to Mr Killeen, “Mr Barrington informed me that to use the Shannon facilities in advance of next year would make Aer Lingus’s transatlantic operations at Shannon even less economical than they are today.”
Mr Barrington said: “We have made it clear that we will not be in a position to use this facility until such time as the Dublin facility is also in operation.
“At the two relevant US airports, JFK in New York and Logan in Boston, Aer Lingus operates into international terminals. If we used the Shannon CBP facility then we would have to operate Shannon flights into domestic terminals.
“This would put an extra strain on our operations and would incur extra costs, which particularly in the case of Shannon-originating flights would make these even less economical than they are today.”
“When the Dublin CBP facility is up and running, which we are told will be mid next year, then we will be able to move all our operations to domestic terminals in the United States subject to our being able to break existing leases and agreements and so expect to be in a position to avail of the facilities (in Shannon),” the airline chief said.
Referring to the difficult state of the global airline industry and the perilous financial situation that Aer Lingus is in, Mr Barrington added: “We want to continue to provide an alternative air service for Irish consumers and maintain as much connectivity as possible. To do this Aer Lingus must run its operations on a truly commercial basis. If we don’t then we won’t survive.”
Clare Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey has also criticised Aer Lingus, saying: “It beggars belief that any company operating at a loss in the current climate would not avail of opportunities to increase revenue and add value to its business.
“I cannot understand the Aer Lingus decision to snub the US pre-clearance facility at Shannon, particularly when other major airlines have jumped at the chance to use the service.”