Manager of Sligo Airport, Joe Corcoran has expressed disappointment at claims made by opponents to plans to extend the runway at the airport in Strandhill and has rejected assertions that the facility is not necessary or important to the region.

Mr. Corcoran said it was with great disappointment that he read letters from John Mc Dermott, chairperson of the Dorrins and Cumeen Strand Conservation Group and Helen Mc Cauley in The Sligo Champion, last week in relation to Sligo Airport.

"Like all airports in the country, and indeed airports worldwide, Sligo Airport is governed by the stringent aviation standards laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and implemented in Ireland by the Irish Aviation Authority. It is a fact that we have grown from humble beginnings in 1977, when, with a grass runway, one of the first major milestones was achieved as the world press used the airport to access the region to report on the atrocity that led to the untimely death in Mullaghmore of Lord Mountbatten and others. From a situation of having one phone line on an A & B payphone, today we have evolved into a modern, well equipped, regional airport with a highly trained professional team of staff involved in the provision of Air Traffic Control, Passenger Handling, Rescue and Firefighting, Security, Marketing and Administration.

"It should be noted that in the process of our annual Aerodrome Standards Audits over the last number of years, there is only one point that has not been resolved to our satisfaction, and to the satisfaction of the Irish Aviation Authority (I.A.A.), and that is the provision of Runway End Safety Areas. This point remains outstanding and it is the achievement of a resolution to this absolute requirement that we have embarked on the Runway End Safety Project. On the subject of runway restriction we have consistently stated that we are presently operating on a derogation from the I.A.A. and we must therefore become compliant in order to maintain our public category licence going into the future. It should also be noted that, in addition to the provision of Runway End Safety Areas, it is planned to install an Instrument Landing System to further enhance safety, and improve reliability of aircraft operations in poor weather conditions.

"The Planning Application lodged by Sligo North West Airport Co. Ltd for the work to be carried out has been subjected to the highest scrutiny possible by the competent Authority and from this, planning permission was granted in August 2009. This planning permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanala and an Oral Hearing is due to take place shortly. We must wait for a determination of the outcome of this process before we can move on. However, we respect the process and the professionalism of the statutory bodies tasked with this process and we will continue to meet with their requirements.

"There is an assertion in both letters that Sligo Airport is not necessary or important to the region. Are we to say that the provision of a facility for Sligo that has the Northwest base for the Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter, daily scheduled air traffic, regular business flights, medical / organ transplant flights, flights in support of Government Departments of Justice and Marine, aircraft maintenance and refuelling for fixed wing and helicopter movements for the North West, is not an added bonus to the services of the area?

"Having an airport in Sligo is essential if we are to maintain and grow both business and tourism industries in the region. The very fact that Sligo has an airport is seen by IDA Ireland as extremely important for current and prospective clients and imperative if Sligo is to compete for business with other regions. "For Sligo to compete on an equal basis with other Gateway locations nationally, it is vital that it can offer the full range of infrastructure and services as competing locations. IDA Ireland is committed to securing new overseas investment for Sligo and the North West Region."

"Improved access to the North West has been widely identified as being critical to future tourism growth. "Failte Ireland acknowledges that increased and competitive access by air into Regional Airports will ensure the spatial distribution of tourism beyond the eastern part of the country. This is crucial if increased visitor numbers and longer stay visitors are to be attracted".

"I note that Mr. Mc Dermott and Ms. Mc Cauley started their campaign on the basis of "we support the airport but we do not like what you are doing to the environment". It is now obvious that these individuals do not support Sligo Airport, a facility which provides sixty jobs on campus. Why not ask those workers if they think Sligo Airport is "vital" to them and their families?

"On the question of ongoing funding I disagree with the figures that are mentioned in the letters. It is a fact that since our official opening in 1982 we have received the equivalent of €90,000 per annum in operational funding which if it is checked is but a fraction of the money given to other Regional Airports. As an example, in 2007 & 2008 Sligo Airport received the grand total of €9,000 from the operational scheme of the Department of Transport, while the balance of over two million per annum was spent on supporting the other five Regional Airports.

"The assertion in the letter is that we are a drain on National resources but I would have to say that we have little reliance on the annual subvention in comparison to other Regional Airports and certainly the figures are miniscule compared to the financial support of other forms of public transport.

"Under EU Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2408/92 of 23rd July 1992, the Government established Public Service Obligation (PSO) air services at a number of airports in Ireland, on the basis that "these services are considered vital for the economic development of their regions". Public Service Obligation air services exist in a number of European countries, e.g. France, Italy, Spain and Norway. Sligo Airport does not receive this subsidy, the operating airline does, which in relation to the Sligo to Dublin service, Aer Arann is the current recipient. I would like to let your readers know that the Sligo to Manchester air service was not a subsidised route, and proved to be very successful, only to fall victim to high fuel prices that prevailed at the time. We expect the route to recommence in the near future.

"In summary, we at Sligo Airport will continue to strive to improve the facilities at Sligo Airport and we will be guided and governed by the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, stringent planning laws and guidelines. As a small but important business our only aim is to improve the overall lot of the majority of the people in the region, a peripheral European region, brought closer to our neighbours in Europe by air transport. In a time of economic downturn it is illogical to frustrate existing infrastructural development, when what we really ought to be doing is ensuring that we, as a community and region, preserve existing employment and infrastructure, and are best prepared to embrace economic recovery as and when it happens," said Mr. Corcoran.