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Shannon and Dublin Airports to split

The Government is expected to announce today the separation of Shannon from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

The plan is understood to involve the creation of a new authority for the airport with a 'debt free' position.

A decision on the matter is believed to have been made at Cabinet yesterday following study of a consultants' report furnished to Transport and Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar late last year.

Under the plan expected to be announced by Minister Varadkar later, the mid-west airport would remain in public ownership, possibly with a role for Shannon Development in managing the facility, as the agency's investment roles have been assumed into the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.

It is expected that the Government will write-down or leave Shannon's debt with the DAA. The facility is understood the airport to have been in deficit by €8m last year, and could have long-standing debt totalling €100m.

One of the main options for developing the mid-west airport is 2,000 acres of a land bank that many believe could be used to create a hub for aircraft maintenance.