Re: CORK
Neidin,
You make many valid points, but grossly under-representing the airport's catchment area does your argument no favours.
If you look at airports that provide an equal or better service (i.e. Shannon and Dublin), Cork is the nearest airport for just under a million people in counties Cork, Kerry and Waterford and parts of counties Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary and Wexford.
Admittedly, you can take the figure down, if you include Kerry or Waterford airport, but they will only have a significant impact on the numbers on London routes.
Tom->If the government directly funded the new terminal (or the debt), it could have a legal impact on the airport's ability to offer marketing incentives (i.e. the Charleroi ruling). The fact that CAA can't afford to is, unfortunately, a different issue.