Minister for Transport has rejected a Ryanair claim that he is to blame for its decision cut its services between Dublin and Kerry.
The airline said today it will reduce the frequency of its daily return flights between the two airports from three to just one from the end of next month.
It claimed it was forced to cut the service because the Government has failed to increase the public service obligation (PSO) subsidy which is given to airlines for regional routes which are not considered commercially viable.
The subsidy is given for flights operating from Kerry, Galway and other regional airports. Aer Arann is the main recipient while Ryanair also receives the PSO for its Kerry route.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara claimed the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has refused to increase the payment despite the airline facing additional costs.
“Ryanair will now operate this route on a commercial basis without any PSO subsidy, thereby saving the taxpayer almost €2 million per annum,” he said. “Ryanair again calls for an ending to these PSO subsidies under which tiny passenger numbers receive enormous taxpayer subsidies to fund vastly inflated charges at Irish regional airports.”
Ryanair said it will continue to operate its routes from Kerry to Frankfurt Hahn, London Luton and London Stansted.
In a statement, Mr Dempsey said the claims were “typical” of Ryanair. “The company is once again proving that the truth and Ryanair are uneasy bedfellows,” he said.
The Minister said all the charges being paid by the airport to Ryanair were agreed when the airline signed the contract in 2008. “Ryanair signed a contract to provide a service to the people of Kerry, three times a day for three years. They should honour all aspects of that contract.”
Fine Gael’s Kerry North TD and transport spokesman Jimmy Deenihan said the move would have major implications for local businesses and the tourism industry.
“Large businesses like Kerry Group organise their whole schedules around the early morning flight and the late night flight from Dublin,” he said. “The removal of the two routes will remove another selling point for Kerry to promote itself as an industrial location.”
He warned the cuts could threaten the future viability of Kerry airport.
A spokesman for Kerry airport described the decision as a major setback for the local economy.
