The Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) is expected to pursue Ryanair for financial compensation of more than €2 million for breaching the terms of a five-year sweetheart deal on airport passenger charges that is due to end next April.This follows Ryanair’s announcement last week that it is reducing its number of aircraft at Shannon this winter from four to three with the loss of 50 jobs and could close the base altogether next year. Ryanair said it expects to carry about 800,000 passengers at Shannon this year, down from 1.2 million in 2008 and well short of the 1.9 million target agreed with the SAA for the final year of the deal, which expires next April, according to today's Irish Times newspaper.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary last week blamed the Government’s “insane” €10 air travel tax for the decision to scale back services at Shannon.
Shannon handled 3.2 million passengers in 2008 but this is expected to decline steeply this year due to the collapse in consumer demand and a reduction in services by several airlines. Earlier this month, Delta pulled its flights to JFK airport in New York for the winter while Aer Lingus cut its service to Chicago.
