The Apologists for Aer Lingus are getting into their stride now to as much as possible dash any hope of a North Atlantic destination from Cork. Someone spoke of Aer Lingus not being a charity - it seems they are not old enough to remember that is all that it was to a large extent up to about twenty years ago when the Aer Lingus's sheepskin coat brigade and other hangers on like Aer Rianta employees helped to fill up cabins on their weekend jaunts. What else would you have called Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta at Shannon only a charity case, or more to my mind, a sort of respectable upper class dole for a lot of folk whom had notions about themselves and whom thought world aviation revolved around their own few acres in County Clare.
It wont be anyone in Shannon's fault if by next summer there is no North Atlantic destination ex Cork if Aer Lingus still have use of 757 aircraft. It will be down to the Cork Airport Authority to a large extent - will their masters in the greedy Dublin Airport Authority cry halt either for their own greed reasons or will they play the Department & Varadkar line in not wanting to upset the Shannon ass cart?
Either way it may well present the Cork Airport Authority with another grand excuse to do as little as imaginatively as possible and to blame the equivalent of teaboys for their local problems. The mantra seems to be if in doubt do nothing at all.