The G.A. Standards Dept., G.A. Airworthiness Dept. and Safety Analysis Group would like to take this opportunity to thank the general aviation community for participating in it. The support and goodwill shown to us is greatly appreciated

This trend of growth has also been mirrored in the analysis of North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /US Flights) , which saw growth of +1% in March, +0.8% in June and +1.3% in July 2010.

While commercial terminal traffic at the airports continues to decline against comparable figures in 2009, the rate of decline during 2010 has continued to recede during July 2010.

The traffic growth rates for the three State airports, in July 2010, are as follows:

• Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down by -0.7%
• Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -3.6%
• Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -28%

For the seven month period, January 2010 to July 2010, compared to 2009:

1. Over-flights were down -2.1%
2. North Atlantic Communication flights were down -4.3%

Enroute overflights and North Atlantic Communications Flights could have seen positive growth for the seven months ended 31st July 2010, if the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano had not occurred, or had such a severe impact on these traffic figures during the months of April and May 2010.

3. Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down -12.9%
4. Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -10.5%
5. Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -36.9%

The latest available traffic forecast from EUROCONTROL estimate that European traffic will experience a growth rate of +0.8% for 2010, however, these forecast will be revised in September 2010, when more information is available.

View Traffic Statistics in full

The new addition to our website shows the IAAs dedication and resolve to addressing environmental issues across a broad spectrum of initiatives: we are actively pursuing streamlined arrival and descent procedures with the Point Merge concept at Dublin Airport to save our customers time, fuel and carbon emissions - this is an innovative and dynamic solution. 

We are also examining new ways to offset or eradicate our carbon footprint, reduce our energy usage and actively recycle.

The Upper Airspace over Ireland has been redesigned to allow aircraft to fly optimum routes (almost straight line routes) rather than funneling air traffic along restrictive airways thus enabling them to make large energy savings.

But this is just the start of a range of projects that we seek to implement over the coming years. The website will, of course, be updated as and when we introduce new measures. We expect to produce statistics in the near future showing the environmental gains that we have made based upon our close collaboration with our airspace partner the UKs NATS in refashioning our joint airspace and introducing redesigned routes and profiles for our customers.

View Environmental Policy and Initiatives

(a) from the surface to 2000 feet AMSL.

(b) the period of the restriction shall be from 0700 hrs UTC to 1900 hrs UTC on the 08th August 2010.

(c) within a circle of radius two nautical miles centred on coordinates N53 14 38.15 W007 36 14.75.

State aircraft and aircraft of the Irish Coastguard Service involved in search and rescue are exempt from the restriction.

This Temporary Reserved Area is established at the request of the organisors of the Tullamore and AIB National Livestock Show to protect the safety of aircraft operating to/from the Butterfield Estate during the event.

The airspace in the TRA is restricted to use by aircraft authorised by the Flight Operations Department of the Irish Aviation Authority Tel: 00353(0)16031428 or 00353(0)866051122.

See attached chart.

Due to the difficult economic climate in which the airline industry is currently operating, the charge, which was approved by the Commission for Aviation Regulation last January, was frozen by the IAA until 30^th June 2010 at the 2009 charge of €2.53 per tonne.

The IAA generates its revenue from the aviation industry, in particular from airlines, and does not receive any Government funding. As a self-financing organisation, the IAA has an obligation to recover its costs from the airlines.

Mr. Denis Daly, Chief Financial Officer, IAA, said that the IAA froze its charge for the six months to 30^th June in order to give the airlines some "financial breathing space" in difficult economic conditions.  The IAA could not, however, continue to offer such a freeze indefinitely.

"We understand that any increase will create additional financial pressure for airlines. We regret therefore that we have no alternative but to introduce the increase authorised by the Commission," he said.

The charge for terminal navigation services is based on the regulated capital and operating costs of the Authority and also forecasts of traffic at Cork, Dublin and Shannon Airports.  In calculating the charge per tonne, the Commission for Aviation Regulation sets a maximum price cap taking into account the Authoritys regulated costs and airline traffic activity.

The increase in the charge is €0.83 (83 cent) per tonne and is made up of an element relating to actual traffic being lower than forecast: €0.21 (21 cent) for the fall in 2009 traffic, €0.22 (22 cent) for the expected fall in 2010 traffic) and also €0.40 (40 cent) for the completion and bringing into operational use on 20^th October 2009 of the new visual air traffic control tower at Cork.

Notes to editors

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is a commercial State-sponsored company that provides terminal air navigation services, the costs of which are charged to airlines using the airports at Cork, Dublin and  Shannon. The Authority is self funding and receives no financing from the exchequer.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation, in accordance with Section 7 of the 2001 Aviation Regulation Act, is required to make determinations governing the maximum charge that can be levied by the Irish Aviation Authority  at Cork, Dublin and Shannon airports for the provision of terminal navigation services.

The increase announced last January was due to two main factors, which are part of the Commissions pricing formula:

The price cap formula provides for an equal sharing of the volume risk between the Authority and the industry.  Thus, when traffic falls, the impact of falling traffic is shared equally by the Authority and the industry.  Similarly, were traffic to increase, the gain would be shared between the Authority and the industry. This has an impact on the 2009 rate of €2.53 per tonne which was €0.21 (21 cent) per tonne too low due to the fall in traffic in 2009.  Similarly, the estimated traffic fall in 2010 has a volume sharing impact estimated at €0.22 (22 cent) per tonne.

The price cap also reflects the completion and bringing into operation of the new visual air traffic control tower at Cork on 20^th October 2009.  The impact of the new tower at Cork is €0.40 (40 cent) per tonne.

The IAA generates about 90% of its revenue from air navigation services provided to airlines in over 451,000 square kilometres of Irish-controlled airspace. Up to 90% of all flights from Europe to North America fly through Irish-controlled airspace. The IAA generates 10% of its revenues from the regulation and monitoring of safety standards of civil aviation in Ireland.

The terminal air navigation services provided by the IAA constitute about 14% of IAA revenue and are subject to a price cap determined by the Regulator.

ENDS

Anne Nolan was first appointed to the Board of the Irish Aviation Authority in 2006 and was re-appointed by the Minister for Transport for a second term in recent weeks.

Anne is currently Chief Executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association Ltd. Anne qualified as a pharmacist in 1982 and became a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in 1983. She obtained a Masters Degree in Business Administration from University College, Dublin, in October 1993 and in recent years has completed a number of the modules in the Director Development Programme at the Centre for Corporate Governance, UCD.

She was appointed Chief Executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association Ltd in July 1994. She is currently a member of the:

• Board of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland
• Board of the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP).
• Executive Committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries (EFPIA)
• Board of the Smurfit Graduate School of Business

She was formerly a member of the Irish Medicines Board and the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Anne is also a part-time lecturer (subject: management science) in the School of Pharmacy, Trinity College Dublin.

Commenting on the announcement and in welcoming the appointment of Anne Nolan as Chairman of the Irish Aviation Authority, Eamonn Brennan, CEO of the Irish Aviation Authority, said that:

"The Authority and Irish aviation will benefit greatly from this appointment. Anne Nolan has an unrivalled mix of business, aviation and regulatory experience at the highest level which will be invaluable to the Authority in meeting the growing challenges in aviation safety regulation and air navigation service provision."

This is a positive development following the severe impact on traffic figures during April and May this year due to the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano. While 2009, witnessed the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Authority has now observed growth in enroute traffic numbers during both March and June 2010 of +5% and +1.6% respectively.

This trend has also been mirrored in the analysis of North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /US Flights) , which saw growth of 1% and 0.8% respectively during the Months of March and June 2010. 

While Terminal traffic continues to decline, the rate of decline in June 2010 has dropped for both Dublin and Cork Airports commercial traffic .

The traffic growth rates for the State airports in June 2010 are as follows:

• Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down -2.7%
• Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -6.4%
• Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -56.9%

For the six month period January to June 2010, compared to 2009:

• Over-flights were down -3.6%
• North Atlantic Communication flights were down -5.4%
• Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down -15.1%
• Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -11.8%
• Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -45.4%

The latest available traffic forecast from EUROCONTROL estimate that European traffic will experience a growth rate of +0.8% for 2010, however, these forecast will be revised in September 2010, when more information is available.

View Traffic Statistics in full

Between 05^th and 06^th July 2010 inclusive, the J.P McManus Golf Championship will take place at the Adare Manor Hotel, Adare, County Limerick.

In order to ensure the safety of helicopters operating to and from the site and also to preserve the environment in the vicinity of Adare village, a restriction on the flying of aircraft shall apply in the vicinity of the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Course, County Limerick in the airspace contained within a circle of radius two (2) nautical miles centred on the following point - N53 33 37.260, W008 47 15.840 - from ground level to 2000 ft AMSL.

Flights within the airspace detailed above will be restricted to use by flights specifically authorised by the HAMMS service provider and in accordance with the operating instructions issued by the service provider. Contact details for the service provider are as follows: Site Manager 087 764 2464 On Site Operating Frequency 121.750 - Callsign Adare Ops.

The period of the restriction shall begin at 1000 hours UTC and shall end at 1900 hours UTC on the 05^th July & 06^th July

The Shannon CTR will remain active, as promulgated, throughout the event and an air traffic control service will continue to be provided to traffic operating at Shannon.

This navigation restriction does not apply to State aircraft or aircraft of the Irish Coastguard Service involved in search and rescue.

View Chart

Croatias formal entry into the group took place on June 16, when the membership application was signed at the International Air Traffic Services CANSOs annual meeting in Oslo. The signing means that Croatia now becomes an accession member of COOPANS which now comprises 5 European Air Navigation Service Providers - Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Austria and Croatia . Within a year the country will be a full member of COOPANS. Croatia has a modern system for air traffic control and can bring valuable knowledge and experience to the group. We bid them a warm welcome to COOPANS, says Morten Dambaek Director General of Naviair and Chairman of COOPANS CSG .

COOPANS (COOPeration between ANS-providers) has adopted a common managerial approach where all ANSPs act as one organisation together with Thales with a focus on common success and better value for our customer airlines.

The harmonisation of functionalities and joint investments enable the implementation of an advanced and unified Air Traffic Control system.

By upgrading their legacy system to a single mature ATC software, COOPANS founding members foresee:

• Common stepwise evolutions
• Optimisation of life cycle costs
• Sharing the same system and support baseline for operation and maintenance
• efficient and effective European ATC evolutions

COOPANS has structured the development and deployment process around joint activities such as common specification, operational documentation, validation, training materials and generic safety cases. Members maximise benefits using common tools, methods, and operational procedures throughout the system life cycle..

For more information and comments, please contact Rolf Norman at +46(0)708-19 26 08.

The Session, at CANSOs Global ATM Summit in Oslo, was moderated by David Learmount of Flight International, and the panel consisted of David McMillan, the DG of Eurocontrol, Jeff Poole of IATA, Richard Deakin, the CEO of NATS, Dan Smiley of the FAA and CANSO Operations Manager, and Doug Johnson of the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. In a summary of the discussions, a call for a stronger European Safety Regulator was made.

Mr Johnson presented the role of the VAAC and explained the modelling of the ash cloud distribution. He was followed by David McMillan, who made a strong defence of the decisions taken at the time to close European airspace.

Jeff Poole argued that there are 500 active volcanoes at present around the world, which aircraft safely deal with, and that there was a "staggering complacency" by some European Governments and Institutions to deal with the problem, especially over the first weekend. He concluded by suggesting that the development of a network manager in Europe might be a positive element of the whole episode, along with a greater appreciation on the part of politicians of the role of aviation.

Richard Deakin suggested that the modelling proved to be quite accurate although more sampling data would have been useful. He suggested that communications were difficult when there were 27 different definitions of safety regulations, and that a firm European regulatory approach was required. Finally, Dan Smiley gave a summary of Alaska volcanic contingency plan, which sets out a detailed response to a volcanic event, involving all actors and making responsibilities and communications lines very clear.

Several CEOs spoke from the floor, including Ásgeir Pálsson from ISAVIA, and Eamonn Brennan of the IAA, two ANSPs (Iceland and Ireland) who were particularly affected by the ash. Mr Pálsson made it clear that more understanding of the safe limit for ash density was needed, and that "random test flights achieve nothing", while Eamonn Brennan called for a stronger show of leadership from EASA, the European Safety Agency. Dieter Kaden of DFS pointed out that engine manufacturers were still not taking a lead, and that warranties and insurance for engines were still being removed by manufacturers from aircraft flying close to ash. And Paul Riemans of LVNL explained that the FAB EC nations were ready to introduce an Alaskan-style contingency plan but that this was blocked by politicians.

Several of the speakers noted that the levels of knowledge and coordination had improved considerably since the event, and that if it reoccurred then things would be done differently.

Commenting on the debate, CANSO Director General Graham Lake said;

"Today was an example of CANSO at its best, bringing together the leaders of the air navigation industry to discuss solutions and lessons learned from the volcanic ash cloud. The level of contributions from all the speakers was outstanding, and I want to thank David McMillan, Jeff Poole, Dan Smiley and Richard Deakin in particular, along with Doug Johnson and David Learmount, for leading the session. Only CANSO has brought together such a distinguished panel in the presence of so many ANSPs to discuss this vital problem of volcanic ash, and it shows once again that the Association is taking a leading role in tacking airspace issues around the world."

The Icelandic Volcano impacted particularly on Irish traffic figures between the 15th to the 21st of April and then between the 7th to the 12th of May, due to Irelands proximity to Iceland, and the prevailing weather patterns.

The combined impact of these two issues brought commercial over-flights of Irish airspace down by -10.5%, and North Atlantic (Europe /US) flights also down by -12.8% on May 2009.

The main airports also suffered badly in May 2010 with:

• Dublin air traffic down -12% on 2009
• Cork air traffic down -10.4%  
• Shannon air traffic down -58.2%

For the five month period January to May 2010, compared to 2009:

• Over-flights of Irish Airspace were down -4.9%
• North Atlantic (Europe /US) flights were down -6.9%
• Dublin Airport Flights were down -17.6%
• Cork Airport Flights were down -13%
• Shannon Airport flights were down -42.9%

Other European Air Navigation Service Providers have also experienced similar reductions in aviation traffic for 2010, due to the same factors. However, the latest available traffic forecast from EUROCONTROL estimate that European traffic will experience a growth rate of +0.8% for 2010. This forecast will however be revised in September 2010, when more information is available.

View Flight Statistics

The IAA and NATS have today jointly published the 2010-13 FAB Plan, which outlines an ambitious and visionary project to integrate North Atlantic, Domestic (Irish/UK) and European traffic flows, establishing even more operational synergy across the airspace of the two countries.

Optimisation of Domestic, North Atlantic and European Traffic (ODNET) has been devised to focus on streamlining the UK-Ireland interface and comprises almost 20 different proposals, grouped geographically, to deliver safety, operational and financial benefits to customers.

The close partnership developed between the IAA and NATS through the UK-Ireland FAB remains at the heart of the Plan, which outlines the FABs activities over the next three years.

Donie Mooney, Joint Chairman of the FAB Management Board and Director of Operations for the Irish Aviation Authority, said:  "We have been determined to demonstrate a clear vision of what we want our FAB to deliver. This Plan includes a great deal of careful thought around how we can maximise the operational capability of our airspace."

Ian Hall, Joint Chairman of the FAB Management Board and Operations Strategy & Standards Director for NATS, added: "Our plan sets out a very clear and exciting vision for future operations - to which our staff can commit and our customers can be confident we will deliver.  Our Regulators are also keen to see tangible results from the FAB so their support is crucial."

The UK-Ireland FAB is sponsored by the Irish Department of Transport and the UK Department for Transport and supported by the two countries aviation regulators, the IAA and the CAA, which have established their own Performance Group and workplan to monitor the FABs progress.

Published in parallel with the FAB Plan is a report charting the work of the FAB teams over the past year.

The UK-Ireland FAB has resulted in the following key achievements in 2009:

• Ensure - creation of a route-free bloc of upper airspace which allows airlines to find their optimum flight paths, generating savings of 14,800 tonnes of fuel and 46,800 tonnes of CO2 in 2009
• Night time fuel saving routes, saving 5,700 tonnes of fuel and 18,100 tonnes of CO2 per year
• P600 - the first joint airspace development in Europe which became operational in May 2009 and which has improved efficiency for flights between Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland
• Creation of 3 working groups responsible for airspace design, safety and service provision

The UK-Ireland FAB, which is a "two countries, no boundaries" agreement, was the culmination of four years work by the IAA, NATS, their respective airline and military customers and the two governments to develop their adjoining airspace into one seamless operation.

Further Information:

• FAB Plan 2010 - 2013
• FAB Report 2009

View video "UK-Ireland FAB: The Story So Far”

College Ireland, an integrated marketing solution for aviation products and services was officially launched by Mr. Eamonn Brennan, CX, Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) at an inaugural conference in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, on May 24^th 2010.

Mr. Eamonn Brennan said that the IAA had a long commitment to training and education in the aviation sector and said that the College Ireland initiative brought this commitment to a new level.

Mr. Michael Treacy, Enterprise Ireland acknowledged his organisations support for the initiative and commented that while co-branding initiatives in the past in comparable sectors had tried and failed, this initiative represented an internationally recognised brand.  Mr. Treacy said that the Irish Aviation Authority in partnership with other very strong international brands participating in the project would provide the momentum for a successful venture.  Mr. Treacy confirmed that Enterprise Ireland would continue to provide positive support to College Ireland and reported that the initiative is currently is being promoted through its thirty two offices worldwide.

Mr. Finian Connolly, Chief Executive, Edgewater College, reported on Edgewaters participation in the Marco Polo project, a partnership initiative of European companies trading with China. This co-operation approach between companies is a successful venture for the company. A template Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provided by Edgewater College and agreed by the constituent partners now provides the platform for the College Irelands MOU agreement. Mr. Connolly stressed the importance of the IAAs participation in the project and identified the Authoritys national and international reputation as a key success factor in the project.

Mr. Padraig OCeidigh, Chairman, Aer Arann, and conference speaker, said he considered the initiative to be "visionary" and exactly what Ireland needed at this point in time.  Mr. O Ceidigh acknowledged the support of the IAA and the team involved before going on to say that Aer Arann is committed to education and training in the sector.

Mr. Andy Carlisle, Director Technical, Royal Bank of Scotland and conference speaker was highly complimentary in his comments regarding the College Ireland initiative.  Mr. Carlisle said that he and the leasing sector in general would be prepared to provide practical support to the project by providing lecturers with expertise in the sector to assist in some of the delivery of the College Ireland programme portfolio.

Mr. Cormac Lucey, Economist and former government advisor provided an engaging, if at times salutary story of the economic situation, both nationally and in the aviation sector. Mr. Luceys key message focused on the opportunity that now exists for College Ireland to grow with the global economy indicating and experiencing a strong upturn.  Mr. Lucey cautioned that Ireland will continue to experience significant economic pressures that will continue to be experienced in the aviation sector going forward.

Mr. Brian Joyce, IAA Educational & Development Manager and conference Chairman,  outlined the strategic objectives of College Ireland as follows:

• To establish College Ireland as a "one stop shop" for education, training and consultancy in the international market place
• To establish College Ireland as the provider of choice in Ireland through the provision of accredited industry relevant programmes and
• To facilitate the development of new products developed by the College Ireland affiliates.

The conference also hosted a large exhibition trade stand area where each of the College Ireland members showcased their education and training services and products. This provided an opportunity for delegates to discuss their organisations requirements with each other and simultaneously announced the arrival of College Ireland in the market place. Over 100 delegates from nearly 40 organisations attended the conference.

Since the beginning of the crisis, extensive discussions with airline and engine manufacturers, international regulatory authorities have been ongoing, and in joint agreement with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is satisfied that the revised zones will reduce the restrictions on airports and Irish airspace that have been recently imposed due to the Volcanic Ash.

This has been agreed jointly by the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the Irish Aviation Authority and will be applied in Ireland and the United Kingdom initially and soon throughout Europe after agreement of the European Authorities.

Following  a month of  restrictions in Air Travel in Europe this update introduces a new three zone safety area that comprises an inner no fly zone, a time limited zone and an enhanced procedures zone. Aircraft with approved certification can now operate in the time limited zone with the approval of their regulatory authorities and engine and airframe manufacturers. This allows aircraft to safely operate and should reduce airspace / airport restrictions in the coming months. See attached graphic.

The agreement on updating the Safety Zones comes about after:

• Over 300,000 hours of airline operations in the enhanced procedures zone over the past month since the Volcano erupted;
• Test and observation flights carried out in Holland, France, Ireland, Iceland and the UK amongst others.
• Updating of the Volcanic Model based on the following:
  • Engine tests and experience gained over the past month;
  • Engine checks by over thirty airlines, which have operated over the past month;
  • Enhancement of the Volcanic Ash model to take account of improved emission measurement, concentration and plume height readings.

Eamonn Brennan, Chief Executive of the Irish Aviation Authority said that:

"Extensive research and data from the key stakeholders over the past three weeks,provided sufficient evidence to propose together with the UK CAA, that the safety zone charts issued from now on should be based on the new three zone basis. The reduced area of the new no fly zone will allow greater flexibility to the airlines in conjunction with their respective manufacturers to safely minimise the impact of the ash on their operations"

Irish airlines have been informed and the normal Irish Aviation Authority notice publication procedure system will be updated tomorrow morning.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 01 603 1592 / 0872590581

Ken Rogan: 086 317 9955

The volcanic ash cloud is moving East, away from Irish airspace and, based on the meteorological situation, the IAA does not anticipate putting any further restrictions in place due to volcanic ash for at least the next 48 hours.

The IAA will issue a statement if Irish airspace is threatened by any volcanic ash.

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

For latest maps please click here

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 603 1592 / 087 259 0581

Ken Rogan: 086 317 9955

Airport details are as follows:

The outlook for the coming days is positive and the IAA does not anticipate any further restrictions relating to volcanic ash at Irish airports for at least the next 48 hours. Restrictions currently apply in UK airspace http://www.nats.co.uk/

To see latest charts please click here

A further update will be available at 1430 hours local Monday 17^th May, unless the situation changes.

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 603 1592 / 087 259 0581

Ken Rogan: 086 317 9955

Airport details are as follows:

The outlook for the coming days is positive and the IAA does not anticipate any further restrictions relating to volcanic ash at Irish airports for at least the next 48 hours. Restrictions currently apply in UK airspace http://www.nats.co.uk/

A further update will be available at 1430 hours local Monday 17^th May, unless the situation changes.

To see the latest charts go to http://www.iaa.ie/.

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 603 1592 / 087 259 0581

Ken Rogan: 086 317 9955

Airport details are as follows:

North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remain unaffected.

These latest restrictions have been enforced as extensive observations of the drift of the ash cloud, the volcanos activity and the latest weather forecasts indicate an increased quantity of ash over Irish airspace. Restrictions also apply in UK airspace http://www.nats.co.uk/

Further updates will be available at 0930hrs local Monday 17^th May, unless the situation changes.

To view the latest charts: see chart.

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 087 259 0581

Ken Rogan:086 317 9955

North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remain unaffected.

These latest restrictions have been enforced as extensive observations of the drift of the ash cloud, the volcanos activity and the latest weather forecasts indicate an increased quantity of ash over Irish airspace. Restrictions also apply in UK airspace http://www.nats.co.uk/

Further updates will be available at 2030hrs local today.

View latest charts

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 087 259 0581

David Curtin: 086 283 2123

North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remain unaffected.

The restrictions have been enforced due to the increased volcanic activity and  ash cloud drifting over Irish airspace at present.

The IAA is currently carrying out observation flights at a number of altitudes and is in discussion with other aviation authorities, airlines and engine manufacturers to assess the results of the tests in the interest of passenger safety. The Authority will continue to review analysis and observation results throughout the day.

Further updates will be available at 1430hrs local today.

View Latest Charts

Passengers planning to travel by air over the coming days are advised to regularly check their airline websites and the IAA website in advance of going to the airport.

Media contacts:

Martin Towey: 087 259 0581

David Curtin: 086 283 2123