THE new boss of Belfast City Airport claims Northern Ireland is facing “an indeterminate lag in aviation recovery” unless a Stormont grant scheme to support flights between Britain and the north’s three main airports is extended beyond its Halloween cut-off.
“Without further intervention, the recovery of this region's aviation sector will fall significantly behind other countries which have received additional support,” Matthew Hall said.
He was appointed as chief executive at City Airport on August 1, having previously held senior aviation roles at London City, American Airlines and Travelport.
Mr Hall is demanding an urgent extension to the £4.5 million Northern Ireland Domestic Aviation Kickstart Scheme (NIDAKS), launched at the start of the summer but due to end on October 31.
The scheme, which is administered on behalf of the Department for the Economy by Invest NI, has three broad pillars - maintaining a minimum route frequency on a number of core routes; incentivising enhanced frequency; and encouraging new routes.
The vision was that it would lead to improved connectivity, which in turn would stimulate inbound tourism, as well as both inward and outward business travel, leading to a positive impact on struggling hotels, restaurants and other hospitality and tourism businesses.
But NIDAKS hasn't delivered as expected, with Loganair being the only airline to draw down from the scheme, having been financially backed to fly to Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Teesside from Belfast City.
Mr Hall insists the £4.5m government cash pot is insufficient when compared with interventions to help airlines in other regions.
In last week’s Irish budget, the Dail announced €36 million of support for its Regional Airports Programme.
This was in addition to a package in the 2021 budget of €90 million to enable airports in the Republic to target funding by way of route incentives and rebates.
“The NIDAKS scheme has assisted in securing some new routes, but aviation recovery here is much slower than anticipated,” Mr Hall said.
“Aviation was one of the first sectors to feel the wrath of the Covid-19 pandemic and will be the last to recover.
“And without further intervention, the recovery of Northern Ireland aviation sector will lag significantly behind other countries which have received additional support.”
He added: “Our three local airports recently gave evidence to the Stormont economy committee and look forward to working closely with minister Gordon Lyons and the Executive to ensure that the importance of air connectivity as an economic driver for the region’s recovery is prioritised.
“But we are now calling for an extension of NIDAKS beyond October 31 and further aviation support to ensure Northern Ireland is an attractive destination for airlines reviewing their networks.”
