No overreaction in decision to close airspace

AVIATION AUTHORITY:THE IRISH Aviation Authority has insisted there had been "no overreaction" in taking the decision to close Irish airspace.

Presenting a report on the crisis to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport yesterday, authority chief executive Eamon Brennan also said the closures of Irish airspace due to the presence of volcanic ash were not over.

Mr Brennan said a new model of risk assessment allowed airspace to open on the basis that flights were avoiding the core area of high density ash and a buffer zone. Additional requirements included extra engine inspections and central reporting of the results.

While the core area of dense ash remained off to the north of Ireland, flights could be permitted. If this model had not been developed, Ireland was one of the few countries in Europe which would have remained closed to air traffic.

Mr Brennan said there had been “no overreaction” in taking the decision to close Irish airspace. It was “standard procedure” where there was a risk to safety.

Suggestions that pilots should have been allowed to fly on a line-of-sight basis, as had been made in some quarters, were “by and large rubbish”. “We are not in the business of taking risks”.

In all, 2,139 flights were cancelled, affecting about 300,000 passengers and costing the European air industry about €200 million a day.

Maurice Mullen of the Department of Transport and chairman of the Government’s emergency task force said it had focused on translating IAA announcements into what they meant for the public and tourism bodies.

As the week wore on the issues became related to the rights of air passengers abroad and the capacity of the ferries. Mr Mullen said Irish hoteliers had behaved well in offering stranded customers free laundry and competitive rates.

Exporters using air freight had coped well and were able to identify other routes for their goods.