Tag Archives: Irish Aviation Authority

KIERAN Mulvey, a former Director General of the Workplace Relations Committee, has been appointed to mediate talks aimed at bringing the dispute at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to a close. The IAA employs 332 people at Shannon and Ballygirreen in Newmarket, many of whom are air traffic controllers. The latest move follows a letter sent to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan on behalf of a number of disgruntled air traffic controllers, which made a number of charges. It claimed that Shannon and Cork airports had to close on separate occasions during the summer, due to non availability of air traffic controllers, who have been alienated by management. “The closures and non availability of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) is as a result of years of sustained abuse of the Air Traffic Control staff by the Executive Management team of the Irish Aviation Authority,” the letter alleged. “IAA management have repeatedly and unilaterally changed the terms and conditions of employment of the …

Safety being compromised, controllers allege, in letter to the Minister for Transport SHANNON and Cork airports both had to close during the summer due to a lack of air traffic controllers, and safety is being compromised by forcing those same controllers to work at short notice while tired. That’s part of the message contained in a letter which has been sent to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan by disgruntled air traffic controllers. The IAA employs 332 people in Shannon and at Ballygirreen in Newmarket-on-Fergus, many of them air traffic controllers. The IAA has rejected the claims included in the letter and said that any disagreements can be resolved using existing dispute resolution processes. The letter included stinging criticism of the IAA management, and said that Shannon and Cork Airports both closed during the summer due to staff shortages, which it claimed were brought about because of long term abuse of staff. “As you are aware on a number of occasions an …

With the Government hosting a series of All-Ireland sectoral dialogues to assess how the UK’s decision to exit from the EU may impact on this country, Shannon Chamber is taking a similar approach to the aerospace sector. The business group has invited the CEO of the Irish Aviation Authority to address members at a breakfast briefing in the Inn at Dromoland on Thursday, February 9. Shannon Chamber’s chief executive Helen Downes said, “As highlighted in the National Aviation Policy for Ireland, published in 2015, aviation plays a crucial role in Ireland’s economy and, as an island nation,we are more dependent on aviation than our trading partners. “This 2015 report pointed to the overall value of the sector to Ireland’s economy – €4.1bn to our GDP: €1.9bin directly from aviation, €1.3bn through the supply chain and €0.9bn from associated spending by people employed in aviation. “It supports 26,000 jobs directly and a further 16,000 in the supply chain.Ireland’s tourism, which is …

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross has confirmed that permission has been granted by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for Santa Claus to enter Irish air space this Christmas Eve. There had been worries that Storm Barbara may have interfered with the big man’s travel plans, but the IAA have assured themMinister that Mr Claus is good to go. It is believed that Mr Claus will be accompanied with a team of nine reindeer and a large flying sleigh, however it is not yet known whether he will be accompanied by Mrs Claus, who is sometimes in charge of navigation. In addition Minister Ross said that the Coast Guard had issued a special Christmas Navigation Warning for all Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea. Minister Ross said, “I have been informed that a large, jolly man on a low flying sleigh, assisted by reindeer and perhaps some elves, will be entering Irish air space tomorrow evening. I …

Shannon’s International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) is launching a major international campaign designed to showcase Shannon’s aviation facilities and attract new business opportunities to the region. An IASC stand at the European Business and Corporate Aviation Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva next week marks the start of the campaign.. EBACE is the largest business and corporate aviation show in Europe and one of the biggest in the world. It brings together aircraft manufacturers, operators and suppliers. IASC is presenting Shannon’s capabilities for business aircraft owners, operators, and maintenance providers, and in particular is highlighting the benefits of the brand new Irish ‘EJ’ aircraft register for corporate aircraft, which IASC is partnering with the Irish Aviation Authority to promote. The business aviation sector contributes some €20 billion per year in gross value added to European economies, and supports 160,000 jobs across Europe. In Europe alone there are over 3,300 corporate and business aircraft, 80% of them flying for governments or large companies. …

WHILE figures released by the Irish Aviation Authority in recent days point to a terrible month of April at Shannon Airport, a spokesman for the Banner airport said they are actually quite misleading and that Shannon is on something on a roll. The Irish Aviation Authority figures showed that the number of traffic movements at Shannon in April was 1,454, down by over 20% on April of 2014. Their figures also showed that for the year to date there were 5,010 movements, down by 7.2% on the first four months of 2014. However a spokesman for the airport said that passenger numbers are actually rising at Shannon. “Shannon Airport has enjoyed another promising start to the year, with overall passenger numbers up by 16% by the end of April compared to the same period last year. Already for the first 10 days in May the Airport is showing a five per cent increase in passenger numbers. Regarding the IAA figures, …

A Search and Rescue helicopter operating in South Clare was the target of a laser attack earlier this week. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard Helicopter was part of a rescue effort after a family became disoriented and lost in the Cratloe Woods area on Monday night. However, its efforts were hampered when it became the target of a laser attack. In a statement on Wednesday, the Irish Aviation Authority said it had been in touch with gardaí following on from the incident. “The IAA can confirm that Shannon Air Traffic Control received a report of a laser attack on a search and rescue helicopter at 23:51hrs on August 25, 2014. The IAA forwarded these details to An Garda Síochána. “Laser incidents are where laser beams are deliberately shone at the cockpit of an aircraft by members of the public. Shining a laser at an aircraft can affect the safety of an aircraft, especially if the aircraft is at a critical …

THERE was some more good news for Shannon on Wednesday, when it emerged that the number of flight movements there in September were up be 5.5% compared to the same month last year. The two other State airports, Cork and Dublin, also saw increases, of 5.2% and 6.6% respectively. Interestingly, the average number of daily movements at Shannon was just behind the average at Cork, with the numbers being 60 and 62. Both are way behind Dublin, where the average daily figure was 498. September was the seventh month in a row that traffic at Dublin increased and Irish Aviation Authority CEO Eamonn Brennan said; “This sustained growth is very encouraging news for Dublin Airport and the wider economy. September was also a good month for Shannon, up 5.5% year on year. There is some way to go to catch up with previous levels during the peak years but 2013 is a step in the right direction.” Total flights in …