€1,931,709 Covid funding for Ireland West Airport
CONFIRMATION that Ireland West Airport will receive €1,931,709 in Covid-19 funding has been welcomed by Deputy Michael Ring this morning.
He explained: “The government gave a commitment previously that they would secure EU approval for a €26 million scheme to help compensate airports for the damage caused by Covid-19. This measure is compensating airports for a portion of the damage caused by Covid-19 to airport business in the period April 1 to June 30, 2020.
“I am pleased to see this funding allocation for Ireland West Airport Knock.”
He continued: “There will be further funding disbursed in December following an assessment by the Department of Transport of eligible losses in the current year to end 2021.”
The funding has been allocated ahead of a return to international travel on Monday next, July 19.
Deputy Ring said he is hopeful this funding will assist Ireland West Airport in a very positive manner as the travel restrictions lift.
Ireland West Airport incurred losses of close to €4 million in 2020 with passenger traffic collapsing, from 807,000 passengers in 2019 to 145,000 passengers in 2020 – a passenger level last experienced in 1995.
The continued impact of covid-19 resulted in the airport closing for 160 days earlier this year and is now forecasting a slow recovery for the remainder of 2021 with passenger numbers of less than 150,000 this year.
Welcoming the announcement, Arthur French, Chairman, Ireland West Airport, said: "I wish to thank the Taoiseach, Ministers Ryan and Naughton and our local TD’s, political representatives and the Western Chambers for their continued strong support for the airport and the regions it serves.
"Without this continued support and that of our local authority shareholders the airport would be in a critically vunerable position as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"However, following the introduction of the EU Digital Covid Certificate, and the lifiting of travel restrictions next week, combined with the continued strong roll-out of the vaccination programme, we can look forward with confidence for the first time in 18 months that our industry is starting to see positive signs of recovery.
"Although, there is still uncertainty ahead, we are confident there is a strong demand for international travel from our airport as evidenced in the positive announcement by Ryanair this week of a new winter service to Milan following their recent announcements of two new services to Edinbburgh and Manchester starting in September.
"We look forward to working with our airline partners and stakeholders in rebuilding our route network and returning the airport to growth in the coming years."