Transatlantic air fares could fall as new routes open and passenger numbers grow following a decision to phase out the Shannon stopover by 2008, airlines and business groups claimed yesterday.
Dublin Chamber of Commerce predicted that ending the stopover, which has been a touchstone political issue for many years, would boost tourism, inward investment and business from the US.
"It has long been known that the existing quota system for compulsory landings for transatlantic flights at Shannon airport has been a significant deterrent to new flights in and out of Ireland," said the group's chief executive, Gina Quin .
No flights from the United States to Ireland will be required to stop at Shannon after April 2008 but Aer Lingus will be allowed to fly to any US airport under a deal agreed between Dublin and Washington.
The Shannon stopover will be phased out over 18 months from November 2006, during which Aer Lingus will be allowed to fly to eight US airports, three more than at present.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, who agreed the deal with his US counterpart Norman Mineta, said he had made the transitional arrangement for Shannon a precondition for Ireland's approval of an agreement on open skies (the liberalisation of airline routes) between the EU and the US next week.
"This was a good deal, hard-won, which gives Shannon a good opportunity to prepare for the arrival of open skies. It also provides Aer Lingus with an opportunity to fly to three new destinations in the US from 2006. This will enable the company to develop its transatlantic route structure in the run-up to open skies, open new markets for Irish tourism, offer greater choice to consumers and help grow jobs in Ireland," Mr Cullen said.
For the next 12 months, every second transatlantic flight will continue to stop at Shannon but from November 2006 to April 2008, airlines can provide three flights directly to or from Dublin for every one flight to or from Shannon.
Irish airlines will be allowed to fly to three new US destinations of their choice during the transitional period, after which they can fly to any US airport.
A US department of transportation spokesman told The Irish Times that Washington welcomed the deal but stressed it depended on the conclusion of an EU-US open skies agreement next week.
"Should there be an open skies deal, we feel that would be of immense benefit to airlines, consumers and commerce," the spokesman said.
Open skies talks collapsed last year after European governments complained that the deal on offer was too favourable to US airlines. The prospect of agreement next week moved closer when Washington proposed relaxing rules on foreign investment in US airlines.
Aer Lingus has promised to maintain its current transatlantic traffic of about 400,000 passengers a year, with regular year-round scheduled services between Shannon and Boston and New York.
"We envisage major benefits resulting from this for both the airline and the national economy," the airline's chief executive, Dermot Mannion, said.
Mr Cullen said the Government would draw up an economic and tourism development plan for Shannon to make sure it retains transatlantic air services after the compulsory stopover is abolished.
But Labour's transport spokeswoman, Róisín Shortall, said the transitional period for Shannon was too short and that ending the stopover could have "very serious consequences" for the Shannon region.
"All of the pledges of support from Fianna Fáil TDs for the stopover have proved worthless and the airport and its employees must now face a very difficult future," she said.
