The bill for insuring Enniskillen Airport has doubled to £42,000 in the wake of the September 11 tragedy.

The cost of insuring against perils such as war, hijacking and malicious acts of sabotage is estimated at 100 per cent of the basic aviation cover of £21,000 already being paid by Fermanagh District Council to cover Airport Owners’ Liability. The Council has no option but to include this endorsement in its policy.

Previously, under the Airport Owners’ Liability Policy for Enniskillen Airport, cover was placed with AIG Europe for £50 million, which provided for bodily injury and property damage cover for any occurrence arising out of the fault or negligence of the insured or any of the employees of persons acting on behalf of the Council. The cost of cover for the current year was £21,000, including insurance premium tax.

But following the September 11 atrocity in New York, all insurers had cancelled the endorsement relating to war, hijacking, malicious acts of sabotage and acts of political or terrorist purposes.

Following this, the government had provided temporary cover for a short period on these perils.

The Council’s insurance brokers had then indicated that, based on their broker’s expenses in England, the cost of insuring these perils was estimated at 100 per cent of the basic aviation cover of £21,000.

Mr. Rodney Connor, Clerk and Chief Executive of the Council, told a recent meeting of the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee that he would be producing a report on the operations of Enniskillen Airport and the cost to the Council, and this would soon be presented to the committee.