Limerick Chamber has welcomed the positive economic impact through increased international linkages of increasing services at Shannon Airport.
It follows comments made by Minister Lawless urging tourists to consider flying to Shannon or Cork Airports as a solution to the ongoing passenger cap issues at Dublin Airport.
Michelle Gallagher, CEO of Limerick Chamber said: “Limerick Chamber has long been an advocate for increased regional development by utilising more services to Shannon and indeed other airports. It is refreshing to see Minister Lawless comments on the issue. Ireland needs to better utilise our state-owned aviation assets to boost growth outside Dublin but to also help to relieve pressure on Dublin Airport. We already know that for many, Ireland is the destination, not Dublin – with at least 40% of those travelling through the airport visiting other parts of Ireland.
As Minister Lawless highlighted, there is no cap in airports outside Dublin, on the contrary there is significant underutilised capacity at these airports. But there is also significant added value in using the likes of Shannon Airport. It has the longest runway in Ireland, capable of taking any aircraft type. The Limerick / Shannon area has largest 90-minute catchment area outside Dublin. Shannon is also one of just two airports in Europe to offer a full US preclearance service. It has a new bus route linking it with Limerick City, the main transport node in the Mid-West, and indeed the motorway to the airport doesn’t suffer from the congestion seen at other motorways in Ireland. Making the journey easier than most.
Last week, we highlighted in our submission to the National Planning Framework Review, that Dublin accounts for 86% of Ireland’s annual passenger numbers, this is a key risk in terms of national security. In fact, this has been highlighted for many years. In 2018, Limerick Chamber commissioned an independent piece of research with Copenhagen Economics, where they highlighted how Ireland is an outlier in Europe with the over concentration of passengers at our capital city airport.
Of course, there is always the question of sustainability, in our view the most sustainable airport is the one already built. We need to take advantage of the embodied carbon already within the state apparatus, before we commit to building anything new – and that means taking advantage of the existing underutilised capacity at Shannon, and indeed Cork.
It is important to note that, almost half of Ireland’s FDI companies are located within the Shannon Airport catchment area. Indeed, we know from speaking to our own members that daily transatlantic flights, as well as connections to Britain and Europe are key influencing facts in businesses deciding to locate and grow here.
There are significant economic impacts that come from increasing international linkages and we would welcome these benefits to our region”
