Air safety record speaks for itself

WE wish to respond to Tim Collins’s letter (‘Airline’s quick turnaround raises safety fears’, September 24).

The two recent depressurisation incidents on Ryanair flights are being fully investigated, although it is already clear the crew in both cases handled them in strict accord with our approved safety procedures.

These two incidents should be put in the context of an airline that operates more than 1,100 daily flights, or more than 400,000 flights each year. Since both incidents demonstrated Ryanair’s absolute commitment to safety, they could not, and should not, be cited in ignorance to query either our safety or our procedures.

Our 25-minute aircraft turnaround time (not 20 minutes as claimed) is considerably longer than the 15-minute turnaround times achieved by Southwest Airlines in the US (an airline with an impeccable 30-year safety record).

Ryanair’s 25-minute turnarounds (which are now copied by most of the short-haul airline industry) leave more than ample time for completion of all safety checks.

We demonstrate this more than 1,100 times every day.

It is regrettable that the Irish Examiner would give space to an ill-informed, speculative letter which seeks to use to recent incidents (both of which were handled impeccably by our well-trained crews) as an opportunity unjustly to impugn Ryanair’s impeccable 25-year safety record.

Stephen McNamara

Head of Communications

Ryanair

Dublin Airport