War planes’ flyover costs us €10m

FOREIGN military aircraft passing through Irish airspace have cost taxpayers €10 million over the past five years, the Labour Party revealed yesterday.

This is because the Government exempts foreign military aircraft from fees that apply to commercial aircraft and the State reimburses the Irish Aviation Authority for the charges that are lost because of this exemption.

The Irish Examiner first revealed this controversial practice last year when it emerged that the taxpayer had footed the €6 million bill for US military flights landing in Shannon on the way to the Iraq in the previous two years.