Clare TD Cathal Crowe says he is seeking measures to encourage airlines to boost regional services.
The TD is calling for changes to criteria used to allocate take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport that would encourage airlines to launch services from regional airports, including Shannon, Cork and Knock.
Such a move would be in line with national policy and is permitted under EU rules, the Fianna Fáil deputy added.
It would also aid Dublin Airport in complying with a 32 million a year passenger limit, which Mr Crowe said was likely to remain until the courts or the planning system resolve the issue.
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Reports at the weekend said that Mr Crowe had sought the reinstatement of the Shannon stopover, which obliged transatlantic flights to land first at the midwestern airport before continuing to Dublin.
Mr Crowe stressed that he “did not call for the reintroduction of the Shannon stopover”, which, he pointed out, ceased in 2008 under the EU-US open skies air travel treaty and would “not be making a comeback”.
An independent company, Airport Co-ordination Ltd, allocates take-off and landing slots at Dublin, according to criteria set by air travel regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).
Under Mr Crowe’s proposals, airlines operating at capacity at Dublin that request extra slots at the capital’s airport could be asked to consider launching services from other airports, such as Shannon or Cork.
He said it would be up to airlines to decide whether they wanted to do this, “but it could be transformative for the regions”, added Mr Crowe, who chairs an Oireachtas group on Shannon.
There are 116 flights a week from Dublin to Amsterdam Schiphol, he noted, adding that if Shannon was to get one such service a day, it would have a significant impact.
Dublin is the only airport where slot allocation is regulated.
Conal Henry, Shannon Airport Group chairman, said that no one linked with the business was seeking the stopover’s return.
He maintained that Government needed to deal with the fact that Dublin handled 86 per cent of passengers in and out the Republic.
“We would like for it to be acknowledged that this is something that needs to be addressed,” Mr Henry said. “Government needs to sit down with all the stakeholders and have that conversation.”
He pointed out that five million people a year drove past Shannon to fly from Dublin, even though they would prefer to use their local airport. Mr Henry added that airlines often chose airports according to their own needs, and not always what passengers wanted.
State company DAA, which operates Dublin and Cork airports, maintains that airlines decide where they want to fly.
Its chief executive, Kenny Jacobs, acknowledged that Mr Crowe had not sought the stopover’s reinstatement, a move he criticised at the weekend.
He added that policy should encourage growth at all the Republic’s airports.
