Irish Department of Transport to consider future of Waterford Airport

Ireland's Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, in an internal submission to Minister for Transport Shane Ross, reportedly stated that Waterford Airport is in "jeopardy" (Irish Times, 26-Mar-2018). The submission also called on Mr Ross to allocate EUR375,000 to "safeguard the Coast Guard search and rescue for the first six months of 2018, while also allowing time for a full evaluation of the future of the airport". Mr Ross informed the airport's management in 2016 that it is "untenable for the Department to continue to disburse taxpayers' money in providing grant support on an annual basis to any airport from which no scheduled passenger services are operating". As previously reported by by CAPA, start up carriers Firnas Airways and Aer Southeast both expressed interest in launching services from Waterford Airport.