Galway Airport - mega merge

notharrypotter

Nor is there any rule about visiting aircraft dropping in and buying fuel.

All 5 remaining staff are gone so no one to sell fuel.

Based on the charges on the airports website the parachute users will not cover on-going maintenance.

most likely it will continue to be used as an airfield

Probably but not for long.

I don't understand the legalities of it but in an earlier post it indicates that they intend to relinquish their airport licence.

Without a licence can it continue to operate?

Obviously liability insurance would be a big issue.

what_traffic

mackjark wrote: »

Of course logic doesn't come into it when dealing with local councillors.

It was City and County Executive who bought the place - Cllr's not informed at all that it was at such an advanced stage. Cllr's now are just flying kites for publicity.

Joe 90

notharrypotter wrote: »

All 5 remaining staff are gone so no one to sell fuel.

Based on the charges on the airports website the parachute users will not cover on-going maintenance.



Probably but not for long.

I don't understand the legalities of it but in an earlier post it indicates that they intend to relinquish their airport licence.

Without a licence can it continue to operate?

Obviously liability insurance would be a big issue.

What is an airport licence?
An airfield may be licenced, it may be unlicenced. It may be licenced at some times and not at others.

If it does close as an airfield I would reckon that Galway would be come much less attractive to any foreign business.

GekkePrutser

notharrypotter wrote: »

Based on the charges on the airports website the parachute users will not cover on-going maintenance.

Those landing charges are not the only charges (by far). That's just the price you pay when you touch the runway. It doesn't include renting a hangar, buying fuel, parking for visiting aircraft, etc. Even flying through the airport zone without going near the airport costs money.

mackjark

There are two kinds of licence, commercial and private. The requirements for a commercial licence are stricter than that for a private licence. Airfields can also be unlicenced, in fact be nothing more than a farmer's field.

The airfield licence being handed in is for commercial operations issued to the previous operator. It doesn't preclude an application for another one or the use of the runway by aircraft with the permission of the new owners.

Even flying through the airport zone without going near the airport costs money.

There won't be a zone anymore and in any case that was stunt pulled by the previous management of Galway airport to extract money from all the helicopter traffic going to the Galway races. No other airport in the state tried that.

There are several privately licenced airfields around the country. There is no requirement for full time staff although some have. There is no requirement for ATC. They are day Visual Flight Rules only. You don't need a flight plan to land there. Pilots need the permission of the owner or licensee before landing in theory but often a radio call is all that's needed assuming someone is manning a radio on the field. There may be landing fees or there may not. They can sell fuel or not sell fuel. They can rent the hangars or not. They can open a tea shop or not bother. They can house sheep in the terminal building or use it as a shopping centre. It matters not. All you really need for a privately licenced airfield is somewhere for the planes to land and take off. Some kind of fire cover and a few other requirements. You don't need a tarmac runway or buildings or staff, air traffic controllers or security. It's not the same as running a commercial airport.

All of this is possible at the airport and it would be foolish of the councils to ignore this while hoping for someone white knight to come sailing over the horizon and take the place off their hands. I'm sure the current residents pay rent. Kicking them out would be ridiculous.

That's why I do think there more to this than meets the eye.

civis_liberalis

Robbo wrote: »

I see in today's Advertiser the mayor of the County wants a 25,000 seater all sports stadium on the Airport site

I'll have to remember that Mayor Carroll spouted this nonsense if I ever see his name on a ballot.

sgthighway

civis_liberalis wrote: »

I'll have to remember that Mayor Carroll spouted this nonsense if I ever see his name on a ballot.

+1 with his nonsense about a Sports Stadium. He isn't in touch with reality at all and doesn't deserve to represent the people. The same lad who complained about Eyre Square at night time. I won't be voting for him. Does Oranmore breed bad politicians?

On a separate note should the Airport have been put up for sale in the public domain for anybody to buy? I think it is a good decision for the Councils to buy it .

civis_liberalis

sgthighway wrote: »

+1 with his nonsense about a Sports Stadium. He isn't in touch with reality at all and doesn't deserve to represent the people.

I'm a huge soccer and sports fan, but the mayor should be called out for trying this bs to win points with people who don't know better.

loveBBhate

Drove past the airport not half an hour ago and to say it was quiet would be an understatement. Not much going on as far as I could see.

Storm 10

loveBBhate wrote: »

Drove past the airport not half an hour ago and to say it was quiet would be an understatement. Not much going on as far as I could see.

Its closed at 6pm every day so nothing to see

loveBBhate

Storm 10 wrote: »

Its closed at 6pm every day so nothing to see

Bejaysus little flying in, little flying out.

sgthighway

civis_liberalis wrote: »

I'm a huge soccer and sports fan, but the mayor should be called out for trying this bs to win points with people who don't know better.

I am too. My point is we have Terryland and Pearse Stadium that cannot be filled. The GAA already have a debt for land in Mountain South. It would be crazy to think they would support it now. I am not familiar with Sportsground and Rugby attendance.

ben.schlomo

sgthighway wrote: »

I am too. My point is we have Terryland and Pearse Stadium that cannot be filled. The GAA already have a debt for land in Mountain South. It would be crazy to think they would support it now. I am not familiar with Sportsground and Rugby attendance.

4500 at the Glasgow game last week according to the Sentinel.

kippy

sgthighway wrote: »

+1 with his nonsense about a Sports Stadium. He isn't in touch with reality at all and doesn't deserve to represent the people. The same lad who complained about Eyre Square at night time. I won't be voting for him. Does Oranmore breed bad politicians?

On a separate note should the Airport have been put up for sale in the public domain for anybody to buy? I think it is a good decision for the Councils to buy it .

Anyone on about a sports stadium out there needs a serious reality check - Terryland is completely under utilised as it is, Pearse stadium moreso........, Connacht dont need anything bigger at present......

Anyone spouting about a "business park" hasnt a brain in the world either, as has already been pointed out here already, the city and its suburbs is awash with office/retail space that is in various stages of completion.

Paddyfield

ben.schlomo wrote: »

4500 at the Glasgow game last week according to the Sentinel.

That would leave 20,500 empty seats if it was held in GAS (Galway Airport Stadium).

antoobrien

sgthighway wrote: »

I am too. My point is we have Terryland and Pearse Stadium that cannot be filled.

I was in the goalpost a few weeks ago and heard a couple of cashel lads joking that it's easier to get to Loughrea/Ballinasloe for a hurling match than the stadium. When that's what the people who live in/around the city think what is it going to be like for the rest of the county?

Let's face it, it's the ideal spot for a modern sports facility (athletics, swimming etc. ) to cover most of the west of Ireland.

kippy

antoobrien wrote: »

I was in the goalpost a few weeks ago and heard a couple of cashel lads joking that it's easier to get to Loughrea/Ballinasloe for a hurling match than the stadium. When that's what the people who live in/around the city think what is it going to be like for the rest of the county?

Let's face it, it's the ideal spot for a modern sports facility (athletics, swimming etc. ) to cover most of the west of Ireland.

You've never heard of the sports campus in UL have you?

antoobrien

kippy wrote: »

You've never heard of the sports campus in UL have you?

F**k all good for you if you're from Mayo/Roscommon and parts of the Midlands.

This site is close to the M6 & M17/18 if & when it opens, far more accessible to more of the country than Limerick.

Iwannahurl

antoobrien wrote: »

I was in the goalpost a few weeks ago and heard a couple of cashel lads joking that it's easier to get to Loughrea/Ballinasloe for a hurling match than the stadium. When that's what the people who live in/around the city think what is it going to be like for the rest of the county?

Let's face it, it's the ideal spot for a modern sports facility (athletics, swimming etc. ) to cover most of the west of Ireland.

So what would the plan be? One stadium on the West side of the city and another on the East side? Or replace Pearse Stadium with a new one in Carnmore? In which case what would that be like for people living in the western suburbs and for the residents of Connemara who are allegedly "cut off" from the rest of the country?

Could we have equally extensive sports facilities on both sides of the river? It might be handy, but would it be affordable and sustainable in the long term?

sgthighway

Instead of going off topic talking about building a stadium I thing most people would agree it is not worth talking about.

antoobrien

Iwannahurl wrote: »

So what would the plan be? One stadium on the West side of the city and another on the East side? Or replace Pearse Stadium with a new one in Carnmore? In which case what would that be like for people living in the western suburbs and for the residents of Connemara who are allegedly "cut off" from the rest of the country?

Could we have equally extensive sports facilities on both sides of the river? It might be handy, but would it be affordable and sustainable in the long term?

Define irony: objecting against something that removes the need for the majority of the population of the country to cross the river for sporting events while at the same time objecting to improving access to the west of the county.

Something on the scale of the Morton stadium in Santry, with an associated stadium/pitch - which would allow soccer & rugby as well as GAA - would be sustainable.

I'll also point out that there is a need for a floodlit pitch for inter county matches, at the moment the stadium is the only currently realistic option for that. Do you really want more parking headaches at night for you to take pictures of?

kippy

antoobrien wrote: »

F**k all good for you if you're from Mayo/Roscommon and parts of the Midlands.

This site is close to the M6 & M17/18 if & when it opens, far more accessible to more of the country than Limerick.

Not a notion of it happening.
If anything the M17 will make Limerick more accessible to those parts of the country than sticking in a white elephant costing millions an hour from Limerick.

kippy

antoobrien wrote: »

Define irony: objecting against something that removes the need for the majority of the population of the country to cross the river for sporting events while at the same time objecting to improving access to the west of the county.

Something on the scale of the Morton stadium in Santry, with an associated stadium/pitch - which would allow soccer & rugby as well as GAA - would be sustainable.

I'll also point out that there is a need for a floodlit pitch for inter county matches, at the moment the stadium is the only currently realistic option for that. Do you really want more parking headaches at night for you to take pictures of?

Have you been to Terryland Park?
An excellent stadium, totally under utilised.

Putting any sort of sporing venue at the airport is compete pie-in-the-sky nonsense for any number of reasons.

antoobrien

kippy wrote: »

Not a notion of it happening.
If anything the M17 will make Limerick more accessible to those parts of the country than sticking in a white elephant costing millions an hour from Limerick.

Ah great, so you've travelled 3 hours and you still have to go another hour:rolleyes:. Sure lets just go back to building stuff in Dublin, after all the "motorway network" is complete.

kippy

antoobrien wrote: »

Ah great, so you've travelled 3 hours and you still have to go another hour:rolleyes:. Sure lets just go back to building stuff in Dublin, after all the "motorway network" is complete.

You and your rolleyes...........
The country cannot afford or indeed support what you are talking about.
If you are that way sporting inclined (ie looking for a "world class" facility) a drive of a few hours or guess what moving closer to said facility is not something you should be shirking at. It'd be one of many sacrifices you'd have to make, as many millions of sports people do.

Limerick has a world class facility, another one an hour up the road - really?

antoobrien

kippy wrote: »

If you are that way sporting inclined (ie looking for a "world class" facility) a drive of a few hours or guess what moving closer to said facility is not something you should be shirking at.

This attitude is one the major problems we have with producing world class athletes. Do something else, go somewhere else, give up training time.

If we want to get more athletes we need more facilities. They don't need to be world class, just modern and accessible (and lets face it Limerick isn't accessible for most of the northwest/west).

Iwannahurl

antoobrien wrote: »

Define irony: objecting against something that removes the need for the majority of the population of the country to cross the river for sporting events while at the same time objecting to improving access to the west of the county.

Something on the scale of the Morton stadium in Santry, with an associated stadium/pitch - which would allow soccer & rugby as well as GAA - would be sustainable.

I'll also point out that there is a need for a floodlit pitch for inter county matches, at the moment the stadium is the only currently realistic option for that. Do you really want more parking headaches at night for you to take pictures of?

I'm not sure what "objections" you're referring to there.

I get the impression from this thread -- perhaps it's an incorrect one -- that a new stadium is a bit of a red herring, or maybe even a potential white elephant.

The more general and important issue, however, is that whatever is proposed for the Carnmore site must align with current and future strategic planning. The purchase of the airport has come as a surprise, with no prior consultation and no apparent reference to established development strategy. That said, some are saying the purchase shows admirable foresight, and even Cllr Catherine Connolly allows for the possibility that it might be a good decision despite the lack of consultation with elected representatives.

antoobrien

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I'm not sure what "objections" you're referring to there.

Wanting to build.. oh never mind you'll just disagree for the sake of it.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I get the impression from this thread -- perhaps it's an incorrect one -- that a new stadium is a bit of a red herring, or maybe even a potential white elephant.

It's based on a comment from the county mayor and would probably be a better use of the land than some of the other suggested uses (business park, social housing etc).

Iwannahurl wrote: »

The more general and important issue, however, is that whatever is proposed for the Carnmore site must align with current and future strategic planning.

A sports facility where it's possible for the majority of Galway people to access & adequate space for them to park couldn't be more strategic. Especially given the extremely loud complaints that follow pretty much any match held in the stadium

Iwannahurl wrote: »

The purchase of the airport has come as a surprise, with no prior consultation and no apparent reference to established development strategy.

All I can say about that is that people who didn't see this coming weren't reading the newspapers over the summer. Various people involved in the city & co council referred to it as an ideal spot for a business park (iirc they were talking about a high tech business park) during the P&R fiasco.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

That said, some are saying the purchase shows admirable foresight, and even Cllr Catherine Connolly allows for the possibility that it might be a good decision despite the lack of consultation with elected representatives.

Considering the track record of the decisions made by our elected representatives the lack of consultation with them can only be a good thing. Oh and the irony of Cllr Connolloy's stating that this might be a good decision can not be underestimated as her decision making has cost the council about€130k in legal fees this year.

kippy

antoobrien wrote: »

This attitude is one the major problems we have with producing world class athletes. Do something else, go somewhere else, give up training time.

If we want to get more athletes we need more facilities. They don't need to be world class, just modern and accessible (and lets face it Limerick isn't accessible for most of the northwest/west).

There isn't one country in the world, where there is a "world class" training facility within an hours drive of all of the population. In fact you'll find in some of the most successful sporting countries, sports facilities aren't that numerous at all.
We have a few around Dublin (which in fairness is within an hour of over 1.5 million people I would guess, and one in Limerick, which is within and hour or another 500+K people I would suggest.
It would be a colossal waste of funds that we're fairly short of a the moment.

The entire state cannot have a facility within an hour of its entire population of the standard of UL or whats up in Dublin. Its nowhere near feasible or warranted.

antoobrien

kippy wrote: »

There isn't one country in the world, where there is a "world class" training facility within an hours drive of all of the population. In fact you'll find in some of the most successful sporting countries, sports facilities aren't that numerous at all.

Who said anything about world class? Modern != world class.