Irish military flight operations are to move to part-time hours at the Air Corps headquarters and may soon have to cease entirely, according to senior military sources.
The move will have huge implications for rescue, medical and policing services.
As it stands, an acute shortage of trained air traffic controllers (ATCs) at the Air Corps’s only base at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, Dublin, is resulting in moving to a five-day-a week, daytime-only flying schedule.
This includes flights by the Garda helicopters.
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The 505 Squadron, which is responsible for air traffic control, is supposed to have 21 personnel but in recent years it has been operating at about 50 per cent capacity.
Five personnel are due to depart shortly for the private sector, necessitating the move to a reduced schedule, which takes effect from June 7th.
Military sources said if just one or two more ATCs depart, Baldonnel will no longer be able to maintain flight operations.
Although the Defence Forces is training junior ATCs, including a group currently studying with a private company in Spain, there will not be enough senior Air Corps instructors to train them on specific Irish systems, sources said.
“Things are on a knife edge. The mood is one of total despair,” said a source.
Several official reports have previously warned a full-time air traffic control function in Baldonnel was not sustainable due to ATCs departing for the higher-paid private sector.
As recently as 2021, a joint Department of Defence and Defence Forces report said urgent measures were needed to prevent personnel from leaving, including retention payments such as those offered to military pilots.
However, these recommendations were not acted on by Government.
Attracted by the higher salaries, many Air Corps ATCs have moved to Weston Airport, the private Dublin facility co-owned by billionaire John Collision.
[ John Collison and other Weston Airport owners invest €18.9m in expansionOpens in new window ]
Weston is moving to 24-hour flight operations due to the stationing of Coast Guard rescue helicopters there.
The cessation of 24/7 operations at Baldonnel, which was first reported by the Journal website, will significantly impact several agencies, including the Garda and HSE.
In recent weeks, the Garda has been scrambling to make alternative arrangements for its Air Support Unit which operates two helicopters and one surveillance aircraft out of Baldonnel.
Garda management are considering basing the unit out of either Weston, Dublin Airport or Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines. The unit has already started conducting some flights out of Weston.
At least one of the Air Corps’s two maritime patrol aircraft, which were recently acquired for €220 million, may operate out of Shannon Airport under contingency plans.
The transfer of operations to private airfields will result in large additional costs, including landing and aircraft parking fees.
Military helicopter operations will also be curtailed as will emergency patient transfers that operate out of Baldonnel. However, sources said pre-planned operations would still be able to proceed.
The move may also affect the Ministerial Air Transport Service, more commonly known as the Government jet.
However, the ageing Learjet is now rarely used by Ministers, who instead use chartered private aircraft for official travel.
Flight operations at Baldonnel have been curtailed twice in the last 20 years due to a lack of ATCs. Previously, pilots were brought in to act as temporary ATCs.
However, it is understood this is unlikely to happen this time.
The crisis comes as Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has promised a large investment in the Air Corps, which will soon be renamed the Irish Air Force.
This includes the purchase of a military radar system, four new helicopters, one new troop transport aircraft and a complete refurbishment of Baldonnel.
Eventually, combat fighter jets will be acquired to patrol Irish skies, Mr Harris has said.
The Defence Forces and Department of Defence both said they did not comment on operational issues.
