Game, set and match to DAA and Shannon Airport. After next election will it be arise Senator Peter? Seamus Brennan, Micheal Martin and all of the rest of the gutless cabal of weak Cork TDs off the hook - a Haughey type vintage stroke by the Governement and the DAA - the bought and paid for Cork board has delivered for their masters.
It will indeed be one hundred and three years before Cork has an Atlantic flight now and Shannon's future is much safer into the future than ever before in spite of Open Skies. Some opportunity that has turned out to be for Cork Airport.
As for the possibility of the 40 acres being sold off and 25/07 being closed I imagine the flying clubs might object to that in the courts but as to their capability to engage costly Senior Counsel etc for lengthy periods that is another question. The flying clubs have been fairly regular users of runway 25/07 so it is not just the occasional RE or the even far rarer EI landing.
The sad thing about all this and something which the DAA and the CAA have been able to bank on is the Cork public have not had one whit of real interest in the airport and in a way Cork will be getting what it deserves - increased charges for this and that at regular intervals for well into the future to service the ol' debt.
Small airport - big heart -thick as 5h!t!
Watch it now as they go grovelling cap in hand to MOL for a few more routes - anything at all for a bit of distraction to make 'em look good in De Echo not to mention how busy the public relations companies will be - they can always go hide behind their skirts when the going gets tough.