The problem with Cork is simply down to two things -
Management and
Politics. This has led to the following 3 critical issues;
1) The construction of a brand new Terminal Building which is which is no longer fit for purpose. Yes at the time it catered to the massive growth being experienced however the involvement in this construction by politicians has lead to;
A) Cork Airport being saddled with totally unsustainable debt.
B) A new Terminal which today is a total and utter shambles, it leads to overall costs actually being increased as we have split operations (Old Terminal for Management etc) and an Terminal dedicated to operations, had there been a third upper level floor (the basement is below ground level and thus ground level is actually level 1) as requested by management at the time we would have had one house which would mean running costs would be A LOT lower as well as a massive drop in the current maintenance costs.
2) The clear and total ineptness of the current management team, with all due respect I think it would take an axe murder to appear in their offices to get them to realise they need to act now to protect existing services and to get growth back as soon as possible (the right growth!).
3) An uncompetitive playing field due to
Politics.
A) Having a rival which can compete for the catchment of Cork Airport being cleared of €100m of debt and thus being able to exclude debt repayment costs, leaves Cork operating at a continued loss (one which will grow unless there is a radical turnaround) - The actual yearly losses at Cork Airport are primarily down to debt repayments, as was the case at Shannon. The actual operational side is expected to be profitable in 2014 - However again, there needs to be further radical efforts to achieve this target.
B) Having an owner who is actually also competing for a re-bound in passenger figures - It's clear this conflict of interest needs to be fully eradicated, Cork Airport needs to have 100% operational control, let's face it we're saddled with debt so we may aswell have a say in our continued downfall with the current management team.
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Again I'll say it,
Management and
Politics. It's for that reason, Shannon is now at a competitive advantage over Cork in 2014, this is unjust and however childish, forum members want to be on this thread, its a fact, and until its corrected (I'm not holding my breath, this is Ireland
) then Cork will continue to face decline, job loss and tourism loss - For Ireland's second City, it is not only hilarious to watch the decline continue, but to listen as TD's and local management who seem to hold as much knowledge in this industry as my four year-old labrador speak about Cork's fortunes.
I have a clear connection with these 3 issues, my livelihood - And it sickens me to think that I might be watching it actually disappear.