More planes than ever over Dublin airport

The skies above Dublin airport are set to get even busier this year with planes due to fly closer together.

The move will reduce the time that planes spend on the runway and reduce waiting times.

Presently 700 planes land in Dublin Airport every day with over 170,000 take offs and landings recorded in 1999.

Now air traffic controllers want to get planes off the ground faster and bring Dublin Airport in line with some of the world's busiest airports such as JFK.

The New York airport operates arriving and departing flights 2.5 miles apart.

Back home, Dublin Airport has decided to cut the required distance between aircraft from five miles to three.

The move will see planes spending less time on the runway, and passengers embarking on flights faster.

It is hoped this will result in a more efficient service and boost passenger numbers. The new changes should be operational by the summer peak period.