ONE MORE THING:LIAM SCOLLAN, chairman of Ireland West Airport Knock was happy to report to me this week that passenger numbers at the Mayo facility are likely to rise by 9 per cent this year to about 640,000.

This is largely down to the launch of three sun routes to the Canary Islands by Ryanair and regional carrier Flybe starting a service to Edinburgh from April 19th. “We are getting growth from new routes but average spend by passengers is still in decline,” Scollan said.

The average passenger spend is about one-third off the peak of the Celtic Tiger years. This has resulted in Knock trimming its cost base by 30 per cent.

“Passenger spending is still going down . . . due to the recession.”

Has Knock turned a corner? “It would be too optimistic to say that,” said Scollan.

Knock’s passenger traffic fell by 3 per cent last year to 589,000.

Scollan said the airport washed its face in 2010, but only as the result of a €700,000 operational grant from the Government.

“We finished the year at breakeven,” he said.

Tourism is a hot topic here now, with plans being drawn up to attract two million more visitors a year to Ireland.

Scollan was critical of how the country is marketed aboard. “I wouldn’t be sufficiently happy at this stage at how Tourism Ireland is promoting the regions and the country as a whole,” he said.

“I don’t see the focus from where I’m standing.”

Scollan is keen for Knock to have flights to one of the major European airport hubs – Heathrow or Charles de Gaulle in Paris are his preferences – and believes that support should be available to help the airport achieve this goal.

“We haven’t been able to attract airlines to deliver these services. We need assistance to attract these routes.”

With State-owned Shannon airport just down the road, it will be interesting to see if Scollan can secure the support he needs to land flights to a major hub.