Presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

Presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

GovernmentMust Safeguard Cork’s Connectivity

Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today on this critical issue for Cork’s business and tourism communities.

Cork Chamber is the leading business organisation for the Cork region, representing in excess of 1,000 businesses that employ more than 100,000 people, with a mandate to drive the wider economic development of the region.

Cork is the economic hub of Southern Ireland and Cork Airport’s services and air-connectivity are critical to the economic health and global investment appeal of Ireland’s second city and its surrounding region. Cork’s air connectivity has been instrumental in attracting inward investment from global market leaders in key sectors with Cork now home to145 IDA client companies employing almost 30,000 people. Cork’s air connectivity also plays a pivotal role in serving the connectivity needs of the broader indigenous business base and tourism communities.

The accessibility of Cork, in particular the range and frequency of inbound and outbound air services is a core priority for the Chamber given the vital role of these services in facilitating business and tourism in the wider Cork region.Our geographic representation, in addition to our air-travel surveys gives us a unique understandingof our connectivity infrastructure – the criticality of the London-Heathrow connection being paramount.

Despite some recent positive policy initiatives Cork Chamber has grave concerns regarding the adequacy of existing government policy measures to support a fair, balanced and effective approach to the development of Cork Airport as one of the three State airports, the most recent of these serious concerns being the potential sale of Aer Lingus to the International Airlines Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG).

Following this week’s recommendation by the Board of Aer Lingus to its shareholders to accept apotential offer from IAG,Cork Chamber strongly urges Government to oppose the sale of Aer Lingus in light of our growing concerns regarding the absence of legally-binding guarantees around the safe-guarding of the existing Cork-Heathrow slots or any other information relating to International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) longer-terms plans for the airline as they relate to Cork airport.

The Cork-Heathrow slots are a national asset and are a critical piece of business infrastructure for our region. Heathrow is the leading connection to Cork’s largest trading partner, the UK and is the leading access point to and from the globe from both a business and tourism perspective. In the absence of direct US connectivity from Cork, the significance of our direct link to Heathrow is further magnified.

In 2014, almost 400,000 passengers flewon the four daily flights which presently operate between Cork Airport and Heathrow and which accounted for almost 20 per cent of Cork’s total 2.14 million passengers. One in five (20%) of these passengers then transferred onto another international flight which underlines the criticality of this onward worldwide connectivity link.

In addition our 2014 business air-travel survey showed LHR is the most used hub airport by almost two thirds of businesses in Cork.

Clearly, the implications of losing this route would have severe consequences for our business sectors and we urge Government to ensure a legally-binding guarantee is put in place to maintain the existing Cork Airport to Heathrow connectivity before any sale of Aer Lingus should be considered. Any reduction in connectivity to Heathrow would undoubtedly make Cork a less attractive destination to multinational businesses looking to invest and create jobs in Cork, as well as existing investors and would inhibit international market accessfor our indigenous businesses and would put our city-region at a very significant disadvantage.

While we welcome the government’s announcement to establish an interdepartmental group to consider the implications of the potential sale of Aer Lingus to IAG, it is essential that the terms of reference of this group include a requirement to report specifically on the impact and implications of any sale on Cork Airport. A broad national overview would not be sufficient and would not acknowledge the growing concerns across the Cork business and tourism community which reflect the incalculable importance of connectivity to London Heathrow, which is an intrinsic core of Cork’s business and tourism infrastructure.

Thank you for your consideration and I am happy to take any questions.