Travel chaos looms as air traffic controller talks fail

TALKS aimed at ending a dispute that yesterday threatened to cripple air travel at the country’s biggest airports broke down last night without agreement and the matter is now expected to be forwarded to the Labour Relations Commission.

Throughout the evening, representatives of the Irish Aviation Authority and the IMPACT trade union worked to thrash out a deal.

IMPACT was representing air traffic controllers who had introduced a ban on overtime at Dublin Airport in protest at recruitment levels.

On Wednesday night union members informed the IAA they would not make themselves available for overtime unless it found additional staff to cover shifts while it waited on 75 recruits to finish training in 2009.

The recruitment difficulties date back to 2001 although IMPACT said the current dispute escalated quickly.

Six years ago staffing levels were cut in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the fall-off in air travel.

In recent years the amount of traffic handled by Irish control centres rose considerably, especially since the handing over of more than 4,000 square metres of air space to Irish authorities in 2006.

These other flights are all handled at Irish stations.

Yesterday, the IAA maintained it would continue to operate a full 24-hour service at Dublin Airport despite the dispute.

It described the withdrawal of flexibility in rostering by the air traffic controllers as a breach of the national pay agreement.

It warned passengers there would be delays when there was insufficient staff to act as cover.

However, after lengthy talks that began at 3pm yesterday the two sides were unable to strike a deal and the IAA referred it onto the Labour Relations Commission.

Flight numbers

1,022,299: Individual flights handled by Irish air traffic controllers in 12 months.

442: Operations staff working for the Irish Aviation Authority.

34%: Increase in the amount of planes flying over Irish air space in four years.

251,235: Flights either landing or taking off from either Shannon, Dublin or Cork annually.

1,250: Daily transatlantic journeys using the Ballygirreen radio base in Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare.

451,000: Square kilometres was added to the scope of Irish air space under the Northern Oceanic Transition Area initiative, the second phase of which took effect in October 2006.

85,000: Aircraft flew through the new portion of Irish airspace in 2006.

€78,519: The average wage for the Irish Aviation Authority’s 657 staff including, controllers, trainers, secretariat and seven students.

€13.6 million: Annual operating profit for the Irish Aviation Authority.

Figures calculated from Irish Aviation Authority’s annual report 2006.

Compiled by Conor Ryan