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| Aer Lingus, flag carrier of Ireland. Photo: Wikimedia |
[Avionics Today 08-20-2015] Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, launched a new policy for the Irish aviation sector earlier this week. The new policy aims to enhance maintenance of aviation safety, increase connectivity to and from Ireland — especially in emerging markets — and retain Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports under state ownership, among other initiatives. This is the first time Ireland has launched a policy of this kind.
“Last year 25.5 million passengers used Ireland’s airports — up 7percent on 2013 and total flights in Irish airspace grew by 2.7 percent. This trend looks set to continue with a record 15 percent increase in passenger volume at Dublin Airport reported for the first half of 2015,” said Donohoe. “By 2020, we expect Irish airports will handle in the region of 33 million passengers and the Irish aviation has to be ready not just to deal with the challenges ahead in this changing global environment but to capitalize on the opportunities that will present, such as the shift taking place in the global aviation from the traditional EU-U.S. axis, eastwards to Asia.”