RYANAIR is seeking a 50 per cent reduction in its cost base at Shannon Airport if it is to renew its five-year agreement with the airport.
The airline's agreement with Shannon concludes in April 2010, but Ryanair said another condition of renewal is the axing of the j10 Government tourist tax by February.
Failure to meet these terms, it said, will see its base at Shannon being reduce
d by 75 per cent, with just 50 jobs guaranteed.
"If the Government j10 travel tax is removed at Shannon, then Ryanair will commit to delivering more than 1.2m passengers annually, on up to four based aircraft and 200 Ryanair jobs being maintained at the airport. However, if the Shannon cost base is not extended, or if the Government's j10 tourist tax is not removed, then Ryanair will reduce its Shannon base by 75 per cent to one based aircraft, which will largely operate the London and some British provincial routes, guaranteeing just 50 jobs, and 300,000 passengers per annum," said Ryanair's Michael Cawley.
The airline is seeking better terms under the airport agreement, stating that it had invested over j400m in airport since 2005. In that period, annual traffic at Shannon grew from 300,000 passengers in 2004 to 1.9m last year.
Ryanair has written to Shannon Airport confirming that it has lost money in each of the five years it has operated a base at the airport. The airline has also reduced its fleet of aircraft at Shannon from six to four, and plans to cut another aircraft this winter.
