RNS Number:4728N
Aer Rianta Finance PLC
11 July 2003

                             Aer Rianta Finance plc



Euro250,000,000 6.15 per cent. notes due 2011 of Aer Rianta Finance plc, guaranteed
                               by Aer Rianta cpt



             Government announcement of 10 July regarding Aer Rianta



The Minister for Transport of Ireland (the "Minister") announced yesterday
afternoon that the government has decided to proceed with arrangements,
including the necessary changes in legislation, to establish twelve months from
now Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports as fully independent autonomous airports
under state ownership.  The Minister stated that the government has decided to
proceed with the following interim arrangements under existing legislation:



(a)        the immediate establishment of three airport boards-designate for
Dublin, Shannon and Cork;



(b)        the immediate restructuring of Aer Rianta cpt's (the "Company") board
so that its six non-worker directors comprise the three chairpersons-designate
and three deputy chairpersons-designate for the Dublin, Shannon and Cork
boards-designate; and



(c)        the mandating of the Company's board with the continued normal
discharging of functions and duties assigned to it by existing legislation and
with assisting the Minister and the three airport boards-designate with the
necessary preparatory work required by these decisions.



In his statement, the Minister also indicated that:



(a)        the Company's board will, in consultation with the Department of
Transport, oversee the transition arrangements over the following 12-month
period;



(b)        to the extent that any existing debt of the group is associated with
Shannon and Cork airports, including the debt associated with the major new
investment programme at Cork, this will not be allocated to the new companies
but will remain with the Dublin airport entity and any new debts arising at
Shannon and Cork will appear on their respective balance sheets;



(c)        none of the state airports currently receive any exchequer support
and that situation will not change under the new arrangements; and



(d)        the allocation of other Aer Rianta group assets, such as the Great
Southern Hotels group and the group's international activities, conducted
through Aer Rianta International cpt, will be determined in detailed discussions
during the 12-month transition period.



The full text of the Minister's' announcement can be found at http://
www.transport.ie



The Company's board will meet shortly to consider the government's outline
proposals.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

STRSFIFIFSDSEEW