Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has urged the steering group that will oversee the launch of Shannon Airport as an independent entity to move quickly with its work and report before the November deadline.
The minister was speaking at an international aviation conference at Dromoland Castle in Co Clare.
Delegates are discussing the challenges and opportunities ahead for Shannon to be a key player in the international aviation business.
Minister Varadkar said the recently appointed high-level group is due to report to Cabinet on the changes for Shannon by November.
However, he said today that he did not believe they should have to wait that long.
Minister Varadkar urged the group and its assistant task force groups to move quickly to have detailed plans in place by year end to give certainty and urgency to the issue.
He wants to have the new Shannon Airport body up and running immediately after that.
The minister also indicated there could be a Cabinet reshuffle probably in 2013 or 2014 and he would like to see the authority in place before that happens.
Meanwhile, an international aviation business specialist told the conference that Shannon Airport needs to do much more to inform the international aviation business world of its many attractions and how it has the edge over other airports across the world.
European Business Aviation Association Chairperson Aoife O’Sullivan said Shannon already had a cluster of business expertise, tax incentives and attractions.
But she said these needed to be branded and marketed aggressively particularly for the corporate private jet business.
