Job losses could be on the cards at City of Derry Airport where passenger numbers are expected to drop over the coming year.
Airport director Damien Tierney.
Damien Tierney, director of the airport which has a staff of 100 with up to 60 more employed by outside contractors, said a reduction in jobs could not be ruled out.
Mr Tierney said he expected passenger numbers at the Eglinton airport to drop by between 10 and 15 per cent in the next 12 months.
He said “all other options” would be looked at before “going down the road” of job losses.
He added if there were job cuts he hoped they would be through “natural wastage.”
Mr Tierney was speaking after making a report on the airport’s performance to Derry City Council which owns the airport.
Mr Tierney told members of the council’s Regional Services Committee that 2014-2015 would “probably be our most difficult.”
The airport is set for a drop in flight numbers in the next year with Ryanair set reduce the number of flights by up 18 a week.
Air passenger duty charges, the economic downturn and competition with airports in the Republic of Ireland were listed as reasons for the proposed reduction.
Councillors were told while there was a slight increase during the BBC Radio 1’s “One Big Weekend” and the All-Ireland Fleadh, there was no increase in passenger numbers during 2013.
Derry ratepayers currently contribute £2 million a year to the running of the airport.
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