This article is from page 2 of the 2007-08-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
THE make-up of the strategic alli- ance group that will fight the decision to axe the Aer Lingus Shannon/Hea- throw connection will be unveiled later today.
And as business, tourism and work- ers’ groups throw their weight behind the six names to be revealed, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is on his way to Shannon for a press conference at which he will outline the airline’s response to the Aer Lingus decision to abandon its Shannon-Heathrow flights.
As the crisis deepened, there was
no response from Aer Lingus to air- port boss Pat Shanahan’s offer to re- duce landing charges for the airline on the route.
Business leaders were yesterday predicting major job and investment losses if Shannon loses its Heathrow slots.
Chairman of the Regional Tourism Board, Michael Houlihan addressed an emergency meeting of Clare Coun- ty Council last night and said, “This is the most serious threat to this area that has happened in my lifetime. All the investment and proposals that have gone into tourism will be set to nought if this happens.”
He added that the tourism industry has “invested millions of euro on the presumption of connectivity. This is the most serious issue that we have ever had to deal with. We cannot have our slots stolen from us.”
There are more than 110 companies employing almost 7,000 people in the Shannon Free Zone and a further 4,000 jobs planned for the area with the completion of Westpark in 2009.
Business leaders are predicting that current and future jobs are under threat as they depend on the connec- tivity which can only be provided by a Heathrow connection for London.
Ken Sullivan, General Manager with Element Six said that between 15 and 20 staff and clients of the in- dustrial diamond company use the e(crLdnKO) Ao es CoA LAM (cle) ©
“This company will have a very uncertain future in Shannon if an alternative carrier is not found. The Shannon operations require con- stant travel to and from all parts of the world and 90 per cent of this is routed through Heathrow.”
Already, projects worth €100 mil- lion for the region have been shelved by Dromoland Castle hotel and golf club, Doonbeg Golf Club and the Flynn Hotel Group.