Madam, - Like all the residents of Shannon, I am concerned, worried and quite angry at the current situation in relation to Shannon Airport. In round figures there are approximately 2,000 people employed in various companies at the airport and a further 10,000 employed in the Shannon Industrial Estate. Various studies have estimated that approximately 40,000 jobs depend directly and indirectly on Shannon Airport.
The airport is a vital source of regional economic development. Most companies in the mid-west region rely on it to export their goods and for international travel. We have a terminal building that is well engineered, attractive and easy for passengers to use. Despite this, air traffic is concentrated through the east of the country. Dublin has 84 per cent of all Aer Rianta's European traffic and 81 per cent of its UK traffic. Shannon has only 7 per cent of Aer Rianta's UK and European traffic. In addition, Dublin has 56 per cent of Aer Rianta's transatlantic traffic.
All this takes place under a Government that has introduced a much trumpeted decentralisation scheme to help reduce congestion in the eastern region.
If the down-grading of Shannon is allowed to continue, then it is only a matter of time before we start to lose foreign investment in this region. We in Shannon town must stand up and fight for our airport; the future without it is too bleak to contemplate. - Yours, etc.,
SEAN McLOUGHLIN, Corrib Drive, Shannon, Co Clare.