Airport rescue package talks are set to go on into weekend

By Dara Bradley

Intense negotiations on a possible rescue package for Galway Airport are expected to continue over the weekend, as staff vowed to continue their sit-in, seeking assurances they will be paid statutory redundancy entitlements.

Galway Airport and Department of Transport and Bank of Ireland officials were locked in negotiations since the bank controversially ‘seized’ €1.1 million from the airport’s deposit account last Friday. The airport is facing being put into liquidation in the coming days unless it can agree a rescue package with its bankers.

“Discussions with the bank are ongoing. I cannot comment further as everything is dependent on the outcome of those discussions.” It is understood talks could continue into the weekend and early next week,” said Declan Dooley, President of Galway Chamber of Commerce, which is the majority shareholder in the airport.

The airport, which was put on ‘life-support’ last Friday after its deposit account was raided by Bank of Ireland, proved its a worthwhile infrastructure by offering a lifeline to a dying patient in the United Kingdom.

It’s ironic that in the early hours of Wednesday morning, what could turn out to be one of the last nights of Galway Airport, the facility proved to be a vital piece of infrastructure that contributed to saving a life.

Staff at the airport – who are staging overnight sit-ins since Monday at Carnmore over fears they won’t get redundancy packages – facilitated the landing of a medical emergency flight from Newcastle at 2am.

The plane was unable to land in either Shannon or Knock, and so touched down in Galway Airport, collecting vital organs donated by a deceased person at University Hospital Galway, which were transported to a patient in need in the UK.

Read more in today’s Galway City Tribune