Row erupts over why2022 second runway is not yet fully operational
IAA insists it’s not due to skills shortage and conf irms it will get busier – and hence noisier for locals
A WAR of words has broken out over the operation of the new runway at Dublin Airport.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has denied a shortage of air-traffic controllers is causing the much-heralded new runway to operate at limited capacity.
It comes as a Dublin Airport source told the Irish Mail on Sunday the new North Runway is unable to operate at full capacity because there are not enough air-traffic controllers to man it.
An IAA spokeswoman said: ‘That’s not the case. The runway is not closed because of staff shortages – it was never going to be at full capacity at the start.’
After years of planning, Dublin Airport opened its new North Runway just last month, at a cost of €320m.
However, an air-traffic control source told the MoS: ‘It cost a fortune but the
‘They won’t have enough air-traffic controllers’
fact is, they didn’t put enough thought into who would operate it. At the moment it’s only open a few hours a day but in the future they just won’t have enough airtraffic controllers to man it.
‘We’ve had a lot of people move on. So the system at Dublin, which everybody who flies regularly would be familiar with, for example, waiting for one plane to land so another takes off, that’s still the norm.
‘If the new runway was fully open, it would really increase the capacity of the airport but I can’t see it happening any time in the near future.’
The IAA controls the provision of air traffic management in Irish-controlled airspace.
A spokeswoman explained the runway was never going to open at full capacity straight away as it would overwhelm Dublin Airport.
She said: ‘The whole point of the runway opening was to make sure all our traffic controllers are trained for specifically parallel operations.
‘It is currently open for a certain number of hours per day and it will gradually go up.’ There is a well documented shortage of air-traffic controllers worldwide.
Just last month, the Federal Aviation Authority in the United States admitted ‘a massive staffing crisis among air-traffic controllers’, which had been building for years but has been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic.
The new Dublin runway is currently operating for a time between 9am to 1pm but the IAA insists these hours will increase.
Responding to queries this week, the IAA released the following statement to the MoS: ‘There are over 100 fully trained air-traffic controllers providing the air-traffic control service at Dublin Airport.
‘Resources are continuously monitored and assessed with appropriate recruitment strategies implemented to meet the operational demands, including when the DAA extends the hours of operation on the new runway in the coming months.’
The Dublin Airport Authority responded: ‘The amount of activity on the new runway will continue to increase over the coming weeks and months as operations require.’
Meanwhile, an air-traffic controller told the MoS: ‘If and when the new runway gets fully operational, it’s going to be a lot nosier for residents. At the moment they’re only getting a taste of it.’
Many residents in the nearby area are already furious at the opening of the North Runway, reporting ‘dangerous noise’ levels.
According to Dave Kelly from Portmarock, flights are taking off every two minutes during the day from the airport and the DAA plans to extend the time flights can take off during the night.
Currently, flights stop between 11.30pm and 7am to allow residents a peaceful night, but now the DAA proposes to shorten this to between 12am and 6am. Portmarnock is approximately 9.4km from Dublin Airport but for those who live in areas closer the noise is deafening.
Mr Kelly said: ‘People in St Margaret’s who live around 1.6km from the runway are reporting 91 decibels outside their garden which is truly horrendous.’
The Portmarnock resident explained: ‘We’re not against the runway as such, we’re against the night-time flights. People are entitled to a night’s sleep.’