Madam, - I would like to question the validity of some of the "facts" presented by Dermot Walsh in his rather unconvincing and, I felt, somewhat biased argument of April 20th.
Firstly, while his assertion that Shannon Airport did not receive subsidies last year may be, strictly speaking, true if one defines a "subsidy" in purely financial terms. However, this does not mean that Shannon Airport did not receive unfair assistance from the Government in other ways, the most obvious being the stopover rule.
This forces 50 per cent of all transatlantic flights to or from the US to land in Shannon, generating large amounts of revenue which the airport would not have without Government assistance.
Secondly, the statement that "there is no necessity whatsoever" for intending passengers from the US to stop at Shannon if they do not wish to is flagrantly untrue. Under the stopover rule, 50 per cent of passengers flying from the US to Ireland will have to stop in Shannon, whether they want to or not.
And finally, Mr Walsh does not recognise the flip side of this situation. At the moment, any Irish airline wishing to fly to the US is restricted to serving a maximum of five US cities. This is in direct response to the Shannon stopover rule, and would almost certainly be repealed if the stopover were abolished.
The opportunity for increased traffic - to both Dublin and Shannon airports - would be huge. In fact, the current regulations may even be hindering the growth of Shannon Airport, rather than assisting it. - Yours, etc.,
MATTHEW MALLEY,
St Lawrence Road,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Madam, - Dermot Walsh claims (April 20th) that I am entirely wrong about stopping at Shannon (and he disparages your good paper).
The 1994 regulations affecting Shannon still constitute a subsidy because they have the effect of forcing airlines to stop over at Shannon a good deal more than is necessary. (In Mr Walsh's words "all airlines can operate flights direct from Dublin to the US and have only to operate an equal number of overall US flights directly to and from Shannon".) As a frequent traveller I know a one-hour scheduled stop can frequently turn into two hours.
Mr Walsh says that "there is no necessity whatever for an intending passenger from the US to Ireland to stop at Shannon if Dublin is the desired destination", but he admits that because seats direct to Dublin are limited, the airlines generally offer extra seats through Shannon and don't inform passengers about the stop. I don't blame the airlines. They are just trying to compete in a warped marketplace.
I think Mr Walsh's own "facts" prove that the regulations governing Shannon still negatively affect a substantial number of customers.
To clarify a point, I wasn't held up at Shannon on a direct flight from Los Angeles as he implied I claimed. I was held in Shannon by Air Canada when flying from Dublin to Toronto. I was also held up when flying with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Chicago. Lastly, I stand corrected on one point: I can fly directly from Los Angeles to Dublin without stopping at Shannon. I've just purchased four tickets for July. I hope to bring the Californian weather with me. - Yours, etc.,
NEAL ROCHE,
Westlake Village,
California, USA.