The incoming chairman of the Dublin Airport authority, Mr Gary McGann, has said tackling congestion at the airport will be one of his top priorities.
The chief executive of the Jefferson Smurfit Group will take over officially on October 1st from Aer Rianta chairman Mr Noel Hanlon. As a former chief executive of Aer Lingus, Mr McGann knows the aviation business well.
Asked yesterday what his priorities would be, he said: "The obvious challenge is to address the high class problem of significant traffic growth and the congestion at Dublin Airport, which I think everyone who goes through the airport recognises and understands."
As a regular user of the airport, he said, he had personal experience of delays and congestion.
"By any standards, Dublin Airport has experienced growth that most businesses would be unable to cope with. I think the real challenge is balancing investment to deal with that growth, with affordability and a pricing structure needed to attract new airlines and continue growth for the future," he said.
He was speaking after the inaugural meeting of the Dublin Airport authority.
"Clearly that embraces issues like Pier D and the whole issue of a second terminal. Clearly, one of the objectives will be to move the business forward. It has been in a bit of a hiatus which will now be over and we will move on with life."
One of Mr McGann's biggest challenges will be coping with a heavily indebted business. This follows a Government decision to transfer the debts of Shannon and Cork to Dublin.
Asked for his reaction to this, he replied: "I think its a fact of life. We're grown up, we know what we've been asked to do. We understand the context in which we've been asked to do it. We are facing some high class problems. Dublin Airport is a major access point for Ireland in and out."
"There are not too many business facing the growth opportunities this business is facing. So I would be very optimistic," he said.
Mr McGann avoided making any firm comment on who the new chief executive of the authority might be. He said there had been no deliberations on the matter.
