Funding needed for regional air travel to grow

Regional air travel can survive the current industry slump and develop into air taxi services if the necessary financial support is given, Aer Arran’s Chief Executive said today.

By 2015, regional air travel will be like getting on a shuttle bus with a large number of small jet charter companies offering tailor made services to clients.

This vision, outlined by Mr Pádraig O Céidigh, to delegates at the Institution of Engineers of Ireland's annual conference in Killarney, is dependent on support from the EU, National government and from the local communities they serve.

"The reality is that most regional airports are struggling financially to keep their runways open," said Mr O Céidigh.

Mr O Céidigh suggested EU funding is one of the options available.

"EU law allows a member state to impose a Public Service Obligation including some remuneration of operating losses, to protect services which would not be provided on a purely commercial basis".

The decision on whether air traffic is of a high enough priority to justify this support is up to local authorities and central government, said Mr O Céidigh. He pointed to an increase in air travel of 70 per cent from 1995 to 2000 when 18 million air passengers passed through Irish airports.

Mr O Céidigh added in Ireland, per head of population, twice as many passengers fly as in the USA and predicted a sharp rise over the next two years.

In return, the business benefits to the regions would be massive.

"After technology and information access, fast and efficient air access is the next requirement of business and enterprise," he said.

Developing an Irish regional air network should have two requirements; a reliable and frequent service to the hub airport [Dublin] while decentralising routes to give the traveller a region-to-region option by-passing the hub.

The development of short-haul jet aircraft carrying 30-50 passengers is ideally suited to this type of service.

A single transport authority for Ireland with responsibility for air, road and rail transport would assist in integrating the transport routes.

Mr O Céidigh was critical of the uneven provision of air services to the Islands off the Irish Coast. He said it was a scandal that the Aran Islands have had an air service for 32 years while the other Islands have none.

"Just because they are a minority does not mean that we don’t have collective responsibilities towards all our people, . . . in my view, an air service was provided to the Aran Islands because they were an Irish speaking community," he said.