Cork transatlantic flights
Senator Lombard highlighted the long-running effort to secure transatlantic flights for Cork Airport and welcomed pressure on US authorities over licensing.
I refer to Norwegian Air International, NAI, and the long-running debacle that has been the attempt to get transatlantic flights into Cork Airport. It is very important for the second city that we have a transatlantic airport and direct flights from Cork to the United States. During the week NAI announced that it had booked slots from March onwards and was proposing to put in place a price structure as low as €100, which is very competitive. The main issue for us is licensing. I welcome the Taoiseach's statement during the week that he was putting pressure on the US authorities to have the issue sorted out. It is important that this open air licensing agreement be enforced. Owing to political issues in the United States, we will probably not have an agreement until after the election, but it is important that we keep the matter on the agenda as one of the key drivers for tourism, particularly in the southern region. It would provide us with great connectivity which I hope would help the tourism industry in the south to develop. I would like to think that, after the election, we will have an opportunity to discuss with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade how we can work with him and the pressure this Chamber can apply to deliver these important transatlantic flights into Cork.