Global Airport News
The Irish government has failed to reach agreement with Ryanair and other airlines on a proposal to scrap a travel tax in exchange for a pledge to boost traffic to Irish airports.
The government proposed scrapping the EUR€3 (USD$4) travel tax in a bid to boost an economy that has been subject to a harsh austerity programme under an EUR€85 billion European Union/IMF bailout.
Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said he had decided to maintain the tax until next spring as the airlines involved in talks had failed to provide solid commitments on increasing capacity. The funds will be used to finance a tourism campaign.
"I could not agree to foregoing significant revenues in taxes without a solid commitment from the airlines on the restoration of key in-bound routes," Varadkar said in a statement.
Ireland's largest airline, Ryanair, said in a statement it would continue to talk to the government on the tax, but accused the transport ministry of under-representing the commitments it had made to boost traffic.
It said it had committed to bringing in 5 million additional passengers per year over a five year period.
Aer Lingus, which was also involved in the talks, declined to comment.
