Sirs, - I have travelled to Ireland many times because my family comes from Mayo. I have just come back from a second walking holiday in Kerry and can honestly say that the treatment given out at Kerry airport makes me unwilling to ever set foot in the country again.
The extra £5 tax that we were made to pay (without prior notice and by someone physically halting our progress to the departure gates) angers me. I appreciate that public contributions are often a way of improving facilities but the way that I was forced to contribute (in such an aggressive way) left a bad taste. To be told that other airports, such as Knock, are also doing it, makes it worse, not better. During our holiday we were constantly told that Ireland is going through a boom time (with help from the European Union) which makes this non-physical mugging even worse.
The management of Kerry airport really ought to be ashamed of themselves if this is the only way they can think of to raise funds to renovate the airport. Unfortunately, at the moment, the leaving of Kerry is the most prominent memory of my holiday. - Yours, etc.,
Maureen McAndrew, Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 9HT.