The directors of Failte Ireland met today with senior representatives from Aer Lingus and Ryanair to discuss current and developing issues on air travel and access and its effects on Irish tourism.
Failte Ireland's Chairman Gillian Bowler said that a healthy, viable airline industry is critical for the success of the country's tourism industry.
'We can not overstate the crucial importance of easy, affordable access to Ireland as an island nation on the periphery of Europe,' she said.
Ryanair told the meeting that if Irish tourism is to get the 'kick-start' it needs to bring visitors here, the Government immediately needs to develop competing independent terminals at Dublin Airport.
'It has been two years since the Government received 13 separate expressions of interest for competing terminals without progress whatsoever, despite this key commitment being in the present coalition's programme for Government,' Ryanair's Deputy CEO Michael Cawley said.
Failte Ireland said it would work with the airlines and the Government to speed up the development of Dublin Airport in terms and capacity and services to meet the needs of both passengers and client airlines. It would also work on the continued development of new routes into Ireland, especially from Europe to the west coast of Ireland.
It called for the renegotiation of the air agreements between the US and the EU, with an introduction of new routes to Ireland from the US, and said it would work on measures to ensure the maintenance of a balanced portfolio of air services for all passengers to Ireland.
