A major rationalisation programme for Shannon airport, which could result in the loss of up to 200 jobs, is expected to be discussed today at Dublin Airport.

The board of the Dublin Airport Authority, which remains the ultimate owner of Shannon, Cork and Dublin airports, is expected to discuss the need for a cut in numbers at Shannon.

While the authority has refused to comment at this time, it is understood a large segment of the 200 job cuts are likely to occur in the catering division, which is based at Shannon.

Unions have already strongly indicated they will resist any forced redundancies at the catering section or elsewhere. However documents seen by The Irish Times suggest a rationalisation could be on the cards.

A note produced in December for the Dublin Authority board talked about an "immediate rationalisation by voluntary severance package". It also talked about outsourcing "catering and other ancillary activities".

The unions are concerned that a redundancy programme at Shannon may be followed by a redundancy programme at Dublin or Cork.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Dublin Airport Authority said the board has delegated the fullest operational authority to the board of Shannon Airport during the interim period before all three airports become autonomous entities. He was responding to a report in The Irish Times on Saturday.

He said the delegation of authority was subject to "certain overall reporting constraints".

Yesterday, the authority reported that more than 17.1 million passengers travelled through Dublin airport last year, an 8 per cent increase over 2003.

The main contributors to the growth in traffic were European and North Atlantic routes. European traffic grew by 13 per cent, with almost seven million passengers travelling in 2004. This growth was supported by the enlargement of the European Union during the year resulting in an increase of 10 per cent in traffic to EU countries.