This article is from page 10 of the 2007-10-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THE future of the Clare surfing in- dustry is in jeopardy today follow- ing a landmark decision by British Airways (BA) to ban all surfboards on its flights from next Tuesday, No- vember 6.
The airline, which previously had no charge for transporting surf- boards, has decided to ban all hang gliders, windsurfing boards and sails, surfboards, kayaks and canoes from flights and concerns are now build- ing that other airlines will follow this example.
Thousands of surfers travel between the UK and Ireland to go surfing each year and local business people believe the decision will have a ma- jor impact on surfing 1n the county.
‘This could have a big effect on the surf industry in Clare. A lot of peo- ple fly from Gatwick or Heathrow in to Ireland to go surfing in Lahinch or whereever. There is an awful lot of surfing traffic back and forth be- tween Clare and Britain,” said Deb- bie Green of the Green Room Surf School in Lahinch.
‘IT don’t know what these people are
going to have to do now. They might be able to make alternative arrange- ments and maybe come by ferry but there is no guarentee that they will continue to come here.
“This decision is definitely going to affect surfers; it’s already affect- ing us. We have flights booked with BA and we are still waiting for con- firmation from them as to whether we can bring our boards or not.”
Almost 5,000 surfers, including hundreds from Ireland, have already signed an international petition re- questing that BA reverse their deci- sion. The petition, which was started by the British Surfing Association, 1s available from www.gopetition.com/ online/14891.html.
“T really can’t understand why BA is making this decision. There are lots of other airlines who charge for transporting boards; why BA has de- cided to ban them altogether is a bit beyond me,’ continued Mrs Green.
“We are going to try and do some- thing ourselves to help the situa- tion. We are looking at having more boards available for rent for people who are forced to travel without their own boards.”