Government seeks tenders for €5.7m contract to provide Aran Islands air service

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht advertised the contract today (Wednesday), and revealed that 42,554 passenger journeys were made on 8,204 flights on the route last year.

The tender provides for a strict minimum schedule of three return flights each weekday to Inis Mór, as well as two daily return services to Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr, providing a core annual capacity of nearly 31,000 passenger seats.

Prospective contractors will be required to prove that their aircraft can seat at least nine passengers with 10kg of luggage per person, and return fares will be capped at €42.25 for islanders and €63.50 for tourists.

The service operates from the heart of the Galway Gaeltacht, and tenderers are therefore required to guarantee that all flight crew and operational staff are fully competent and willing to conduct business in the Irish language.

The tender documents state that the department considers a commercial profit margin of eight percent of turnover to be “reasonable”, while also offering a 50-50 gain-share incentive scheme if an airline manages to cut operating subsidy requirements below baseline forecasts.

The Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract providing an air service to the islands is currently held by Galway Aviation Services Limited, trading as Aer Arann Islands. The previous four-year contract was worth €4.9 million.

The company operates flights with its fleet of Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft. In addition to passenger air services, the firm has also held the state contract for the management and maintenance of Aerphort Chonamara and the aerodromes on the three islands.

Interested parties have until October 12 to submit tenders for the contract.