Ireland West Airport Welcomes Grant Support from County Council
Ireland West Airport has welcomed the announcement of the allocation of a grant for €150,000 by Mayo County Council in their 2021 budget, to support the airport during the COVID-19 pandemic. The motion was proposed by Cllr Damien Ryan and was unanimously supported by all members of Mayo County Council. The airport are forecasting expected losses of close to €4m this year with passenger traffic collapsing, from 807,000 passengers in 2019 to an estimated 145,000 passengers in 2020 – a passenger level last experienced in 1995.
Welcoming the announcement, Arthur French, Chairman, Ireland West Airport, said “I wish to sincerely thank Cllr Damian Ryan, Mayo County Council Chief Executive, Peter Duggan and its elected members, for this announcement, which will provide support for the expected record losses that the airport will incur both this year and in 2021. The strong support and backing of Mayo County Council is hugely appreciated and recognises the critical importance of Ireland West Airport for the people of Mayo and beyond. The strong recovery of the aviation sector and the restoration of vital air access into regional Ireland is of critical importance to Mayo and the wider region.”
The airport is currently in the middle of a four week period of closure from Saturday 14th November until Sunday 13th December 2020. Passenger numbers have plummeted by over 90% this year and the airport will handle only around 150,000 for the full year, the lowest in 20 years. The airport opened briefly on Thursday 19th November to allow for the arrival of former Iberia Airbus A319 EC-JVE that was arriving on its last flight to be scrapped by EirTrade. The EirTrade crew continue to work on the dismantling of the first Air France Airbus A380 and two other former Iberia Airbus A320’s and a SAS Boeing 737.
Related Posts
Irish Airports Become First WHO Age Friendly Airports in the World →
€16 million in Capital Funding for Regional Airports →
New Ryanair Service at Ireland West →
