ICO press release

Date: 27 February 2006

Information Commissioner orders disclosure of Ryanair and Derry City Airport agreement

The Information Commissioner has ordered Derry City Council to disclose the agreement between Ryanair and Derry City Airport on the airline’s use of the airport and how much the airline pays to use airport facilities.

Derry City Council, which owns and manages the airport, had refused to release the information, which was requested under the Freedom of Information Act, stating that it was exempt under section 29 (1)(a)(the economy), section 41, (information in confidence) and section 43(2) (commercial interests) of the Act.

The Council argued that releasing the agreement could prejudice the economic interests of the region and commercial interests of the airport and of Ryanair.

The Commissioner does not accept that the Council provided the evidence to show that there was a ‘real and significant’ risk that disclosure would be likely to cause such prejudice. Furthermore, as the agreement itself is some six years old, some of the information is now in the public domain, and any that is not is unlikely to pose a real threat to future commercial arrangements.

The Commissioner has therefore ordered that the information is released within 30 days of the issue of the Decision Notice.

ENDS

Full transcript of Decision