Underused Irish regional airports would make ideal pilot training schools for global airlines, industry chiefs argue in a new report published on Thursday.
Chief executives Michael O’Leary of Ryanair and Lynne Embleton of Aer Lingus among other key air travel figures say Ireland needs an all-island aviation strategy that combines the North’s and Republic’s industry strengths.
The report argues that “underutilised” Irish airports including Derry, Sligo, Waterford and Weston offer “ideal and challenging weather conditions to train line-ready commercial pilots for airlines around the world”.
A Pathway for Irish Aviation, commissioned by industry investor Irelandia, highlights that Europe needs 5,000 new pilots a year for the next decade.
It proposes that with the aid of €40 million in low-interest loans from the State-owned Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), Ireland could train 400 pilots a year, from 100 currently.
Locals close to the airports could benefit by renting rooms to trainees and taking advantage of a €14,000-a-year tax break available to householders who do this, the report suggests.
[ Ireland’s regional airports to get nearly €8 million for capital projectsOpens in new window ]
Training costs pilot candidates €110,000 over two years, while they pay up to 15 per cent interest if they borrow the money, which limits the supply of cadets.
The initiative would open opportunities for flight training schools, which say they could boost output on the back of it, and aid Irish carriers, Aer Lingus, ASL, Emerald Airlines and Ryanair in recruiting pilots.
The report calls for the construction of “at least one” world class aircraft engine overhaul facility, potentially in Derry, to cash in on the North’s established expertise in aerospace engineering.
‘We’re at a critically low level of housing stock’ for buyers and renters
Irish airlines and aircraft lessors are responsible for 23,000 individual aircraft engines, providing a ready-made market for such a business, and other maintenance, repair and overhaul outfits, the report points out.
It also suggests that as part of an all-island strategy, agencies such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland should help promote the North as a base for aviation-related business.
This country has a disproportionately large aviation industry, the document notes. That includes Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, and leasing companies that own or manage four out of every 10 of the world’s commercial aircraft.
Its writers, Joe Gill, adjunct professor at Cork University Business School, and Eamonn Brennan, former chief executive of Europe’s air navigation body, Eurocontrol, and the Irish Aviation Authority, spoke to 33 air travel executives.
They include Willie Walsh, founder of International Airlines Group, owner of Aer Lingus and British Airways, and now chief executive of the International Air Transport Association; Conor McCarthy, founder of Emerald Airlines and Dublin Aerospace; and Mary Considine, chief executive of Shannon Airport Group.
None of the report’s findings is attributed directly to any individual executive.
However, they broadly agree that politicians, civil servants and regulators need to work quickly to bolster Irish aviation and prepare it for future growth.
“Policy inertia in Ireland is one of the biggest risks to leveraging aviation for the benefit of the Irish economy,” said Prof Gill.
The companies involved generate about €20 billion a year in revenue and employ more than 100,000 people, giving them the cash “to increase the scale of the Irish aviation industry if given the appropriate policy supports”.
Mr Brennan argued that the scale of expertise and assets in Irish aviation was exceptional.
“That’s not just a national strength: it’s a global asset that requires global-level strategic thinking,” he added.
