Ryanair boss 'lacks any great understanding' of opportunities at Waterford Airport - MEP
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has said that Ryanair Chief Michael O'Leary does not have an understanding of the opportunities at Waterford Regional Airport.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has said that Ryanair Chief Michael O'Leary does not have an understanding of the opportunities at Waterford Regional Airport following comments the airline boss made in a quarterly press conference.
Speaking at the airline's quarterly press conference televised by Sky News, Mr O'Leary said: "There's a bunch of local lunatics there who are determined to get a government grant to build a jet runway".
That was in response to being asked if Ryanair would be returning to the regional airport to celebrate its "40th anniversary" of flights from the runway.
The Ryanair boss described Waterford airport as being within the catchment area of Cork and Dublin and said: "Therefore I think it has no commercial or economic future, but we wish them well."
The Fianna Fáil MEP reacted in a statement describing O'Leary's comments as "ill-informed".
“Michael O’Leary is not on the ground in Waterford and lacks any great understanding of the opportunities that are currently at Waterford airport," she said. "There are over 5,000 airlines in the world, many of whom would jump at the chance to operate flights to and from Waterford airport and we will be speaking with many of them."
Ms Ní Murchú chose to see the positives in the comments, in which the Ryanair boss noted: "If we get a jet runway and there was a low-cost base, i.e. it was free, we might put one or two flights a day back in there from London."
Ms Ní Murchú welcomed the reference to London links which she claimed "would be an enormous boost for the region", to have a direct connection to Britain.
"I see that as an excellent start for a small regional airport like Waterford.”
Ní Mhurchú alluded to the possibility for Waterford Airport to be the location for a future National Aerospace Academy.
“The airport also has [the] potential to become a University Airport on the basis of a draft report carried out by the engineering department of the South East Technological University which showed Waterford Airport has more than enough suitable air space and technologies for flight testing unmanned air vehicles, and also has a suitable runway for the take-off and landing of small aircraft and unmanned air vehicles," she said.
"Connecting a University such as SETU with an airport of this size is similar to approaches taken in Europe, for example, Hans Christen Andersen Airport and the Danish flight test facility, UAS," she added
Ní Mhurchú further proposed the regional airport could take advantage of a "unique opportunity" to become a "global leader in research and production of sustainable aviation fuel" in order to hit EU legislation targets in light of Ireland's role in the aircraft leasing industry.
“Ireland is home to almost 50 per cent of the global fleet of aircraft because of our aircraft leasing industry. The European Commission has introduced legislation obliging fuel suppliers to hit new targets for the use of more sustainable fuel, commencing with a 2% target in 2025, 6% by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2050," she said, "This presents a unique opportunity for small airports like Waterford to become a global leader in the research and production of sustainable aviation fuel."
