Aer Rianta will tell the Government that plans to increase tourism numbers in the wake of the Sept-ember 11th terrorist attacks can only be carried out at the expense of the regional airports.

The board of the State airport operator met yesterday to consider proposals from a Department of the Taoiseach-led working group to reduce landing charges at Dublin and to develop a terminal for low-cost airlines.

In a statement released after the meeting, the board said it would invite the members of the group to visit the airport to look at the facilities and discuss the proposals. "The board will be pointing out to the group that Shannon Airport has excess capacity and has been most adversely affected by the events of September 11th, 2001. The board will also wish to discuss facilities at Cork Airport," according to the statement. It is understood Aer Rianta will argue that it has only limited resources and cannot make the investment required at Dublin without having to pull back on plans to invest £70 million (€88.9 million) in Cork.

The Aviation Commissioner, Mr Bill Prasifka, has ruled that the company can recoup only £273 million of capital expenditure from landing fees.

Aer Rianta believes a separate low-cost area at Dublin is not necessary, as facilities at the airport will be more than adequate to meet demand once they are completed in March next year.

The report also calls for the firm to "develop a more aggressive drive to incentivise growth in passenger numbers through pricing and market support strategies", including incentives for new passengers carried on existing routes.