OREANDA-NEWS. April 7, 2011. Ryanair, Ireland’s favourite airline, today (7th Apr) welcomed the predictable announcement by Padraig O’Ceidigh and Aer Arann that its three subsidised PSO routes from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin would end just as soon as the subsidies finish in July 2011.
 
Ryanair has long campaigned for the ending of these PSO subsidies under which more than €100m of taxpayers’ money has been wasted on entirely uneconomic domestic routes from the regional airports to Dublin.
 
At a time when the Irish public finances are in crisis, the Irish taxpayer should not be subsidising loss making airlines like Aer Arann or unprofitable and unviable regional routes from Dublin, when the vast majority of passengers have switched to using new motorways or improved train services to travel from the regions to Dublin.
 
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
 
“It is no surprise that Aer Arann has decided to close its subsidised routes from Sligo, Knock and Galway to Dublin the minute the subsidies ran out. Irish taxpayers have wasted more than €100m in subsidy payments (principally to Aer Arann) over recent years and not one of these Aer Arann routes will survive one day after these enormous subsidies run out. During that time despite receiving multi-millions in PSO subsidies, Aer Arann has gone bust and only emerged from administration after leaving some €20m of creditors in the lurch.
 
The future of Irish aviation and tourism depends on bringing passengers and visitors to the main and regional airports on viable routes from the UK and Continental Europe. Non viable subsidised routes between the regions and Dublin are a complete waste of tax payers funds, since today’s announcement by Aer Arann proves that it will close these PSO routes the minute the PSO subsidies run out.”