TOURISM AND other industry groups in the mid-west have welcomed the announcement of a new pre-clearance agreement for flights to the United States, saying it will help to secure the future of Shannon airport.
The chairman of the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA), Pat Shanahan, described the announcement as a "historic day for Shannon", forecasting that the airport would be able to rebuild its transatlantic business following the introduction of "open skies" by offering "domestic US flights" to airlines.
At a packed press briefing, Limerick East TD and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said: "It is a great day for Shannon and it is a day in the future that we will look back [upon] as a watershed and an historic day, and a day [on] which the future of this airport and the development of this business at this airport was secured."
The pre-clearance agreement between the two governments will allow passengers to undertake all necessary inspections before departing from Shannon and Dublin for the US. Up to now, only immigration clearance was provided, with customs and agriculture inspections taking place on arrival in the US. Shannon airport is investing €20 million to have the facilities in place for next summer, while Dublin airport's facilities will be in place for summer 2010.
Mr Shanahan said: "This agreement has the potential for Shannon to emerge as a major transatlantic aviation gateway." He added: "It has the potential to significantly increase the number of transatlantic flights daily in and out of Shannon, which will strengthen revenue through increased landing and handling charges and support employment levels at the airport in the process.''
The announcement comes after a difficult year for Shannon airport. Figures for the first three-quarters of this year show passenger traffic is down 13 per cent, with the airport authority anticipating a 14 per cent decrease at the end of the year.
To the end of September, transatlantic traffic was down 24 per cent and London traffic 16 per cent following the introduction of "open skies" in April and the ending of the Heathrow route in January.
The pre-clearance facilities were due to be in place for summer 2008 to compensate for the loss of the Shannon stopover. Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said constitutional and legal difficulties had to be overcome in reaching agreement with the US.
He said the US authorities had told him they currently had no plans to extend pre-clearance elsewhere in Europe.
This would give Ireland a comparative advantage in the highly competitive transatlantic aviation sector.
However, Fine Gael TD Pat Breen claimed similar pre-clearance facilities were already being mooted at Paris and Frankfurt airports. In a statement, Shannon Development said the deal would provide a "major incentive for air traffic growth, both passenger and cargo, for Shannon and the west coast corridor".
Its chief executive, Dr Vincent Cunnane, added that the move would "help secure Shannon airport's key economic role as a transatlantic gateway for business and tourism traffic to this region".
Michael Vaughan, chairman of the Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels Federation said: "The US market is of vital importance to Ireland's tourism industry, so any initiative that makes it easier for American visitors to get here and back will help sustain and grow this market."