Shannon Airport’s viability could be enhanced by being separated from the Dublin Airport Authority and placed in a new entity, possibly with other local public bodies.

Read the full article from the Irish Times.

The Government should sell its 25 per cent stake in Aer Lingus to Ryanair or face the risk that Aer Lingus’s major assets will be sold off in time by foreign competitors, Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary has declared.

Read the full article from the Irish Times.

Aer Lingus’s share price slipped by 7.5 per cent yesterday after the airline warned that operating profit this year would be lower than in 2011 due to continued weak consumer demand and rising oil prices.

Read the full article from the Irish Times.

Improvements to the speed, frequency and quality of regional rail services ultimately leading to the electrification of the inter-city service, were among development targets announced by Iarnród Éireann yesterday.

Read the full article from the Irish Times.

ITIC went to Killarney recently and spoke with a bicycle hire specialist to see if cycling visitors were showing up in good numbers.

Click on the image below to hear what he had to say.

February 21st 2012

Abolition of air travel tax is still an option if airlines put a realistic offer on the table, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said. The door is still open to discussions on the EUR3 tax, worth around EUR30 million a year, he said.

Read the full article in the Irish Times.

Ryanair is no longer the low-cost airline for those taking summer holidays. Significant baggage charges during peak times with Ryanair have often made it cheaper to fly with more mainstream airlines.

Read the full article in the Irish Independent.

Etihad Airways posted a first annual profit and said it was mulling further purchases following an investment in Air Berlin, with Aer Lingus being monitored. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is looking at a range of carriers and would seriously consider one or two global opportunities to help feed its network.

Read the full article in the Irish Times.

Red tape and inflexible EU state aid rules have been blamed for the collapse of the Cork-Swansea ferry service which was wound up by order of the High Court.

Read the full article from the Irish Examiner.

The Dublin Airport Authority is refunding €1.5m in passenger charges to 30 airlines that grew their operations out of the capital’s airport last year. The DAA said that under its Growth Incentive Scheme, the 30 airlines were entitled to rebates in line with their respective levels of growth.

Read the full article in the Irish Independent.