IAA warns of Brexit hit to Irish airports

Aviation concerns need to be at the forefront of Ireland’s Brexit negotiations, with regulation changes arising from the UK leaving the EU potentially hampering Irish airport growth in the coming years, says the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

The authority yesterday reported combined commercial flight growth of nearly 4% at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports in January with each seeing individual growth of 4% to 6%.

The UK accounts for over 60% of capacity from Shannon, Kerry and Knock and over 40% from Dublin. While Ryanair recently warned Brexit will significantly lessen the number of UK tourists visiting Ireland, the authority said the terms of the UK’s exit deal could be damaging also.