On June 11, 2024, , which runs Dublin Airport and Cork Airport (ORK), submitted a planning application to local officials for permission to construct an elevated covered platform with seating.聽聽

The proposed Aircraft Observation Facility would also include a car park with 22 parking spaces (including two spaces for people with reduced mobility and two dedicated family spaces), bike parking and solar panels located on the site to ensure its fully lit and has power.  

The new facility, if approved, will be built where the current informal airport viewing point on Old Airport Road is located.聽聽

The area is commonly known by locals in Dublin as “The Mound” and is fully owned by the airport. 

鈥淭his location has been an informal ‘plane-spotting’ area over the past 40 years and we think it’s time to put a more formal facility in place. It’s a rite of passage for kids in Dublin to be taken to ‘The Mound’ to watch the planes landing and taking off at the airport. This new facility would make it safer and more enjoyable for users and we think it精东影业 a facility that the local community will enjoy,鈥� said Gary McLean, Managing Director of Dublin Airport.聽聽聽

Dublin Airport said that the facility will provide a 鈥渃omfortable and safe space for the community鈥� to view aircraft activities with a perfect view of the south runway (10R/28L) and the cross-wind runway (16/34).聽

McLean added: 鈥淎ircraft observation facilities are a feature of airports around the world. As well as providing a plane-spotting platform, the facilities also create an interface between the airport and the local community, helping aviation enthusiasts to engage with the airport by observing aircraft movements and airport operations.鈥澛�

JetBlue heads to Ireland with daily flights to Dublin from New York and Boston聽

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-03-14

However, it appears that a 鈥渄isruptive passenger鈥� on the same United aircraft may have been the initial reason for the flight crew精东影业 decision to divert the aircraft. 

The United Airlines flight departed Brussels Airport (BRU) on June 5, 2024, around 11:30 local time and was due to land at New York Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) around eight hours later.聽

Dublin Airport confirmed that 鈥渁ppropriate protocols鈥� were put in place to meet the aircraft with the police, National Ambulance Service and a specialist infectious diseases team all involved.  

In a statement United Airlines said that medical personnel in Ireland 鈥渋nvestigated and cleared the flight to continue with the removal of one disruptive passenger, one ill passenger and one other person travelling with the ill passenger鈥�. 

The (HSE) in Ireland confirmed that it undertook an investigation at Dublin Airport but could not comment on individual精东影业 health.聽聽

鈥淗SE National Ambulance Service and HSE Public Health undertook appropriate investigations at Dublin Airport following protocols in partnership with Dublin Airport, Garda S铆och谩na and Airport Police,鈥� HSE said in a statement to the Metro.  

HSE added: 鈥淧ublic Health and National Ambulance Service managed this incident according to national public health guidelines.鈥� 

The flight continued to New York after a short delay.聽聽

Virgin Australia revamps inflight menu with biggest culinary shakeup in years聽

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-04

The new daily flights link the two cities on a daily basis with Delta using Boeing 767-300ERs on the route. The flights depart Dublin Airport (DUB) at 1200 and arrive at Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) at 15.35 local time (DL115). The flights to Ireland (DL114) depart Minneapolis at 22:00 arriving in Dublin at 10:45 the following morning.    

Delta精东影业 45-strong fleet of Boeing 767-300ERs is configured to carry 216 passengers in a three-class layout 鈥� 26 in business, 18 in premium economy, and 172 in economy.   

The new route comes as demand for travel between Ireland and the United States is soaring, according to daa, the operator of Dublin Airport. Along with the new flights to Minneapolis alongside services to New York-JFK, Boston, and Atlanta, Delta will be offering almost 12,500 weekly seats between Dublin and the United States during the northern summer of 2024.聽聽

“Today marks the inaugural flight of Delta Air Lines’ new direct service from Dublin to Minneapolis, adding another exciting chapter to our longstanding relationship with Delta,鈥� said Gary McLean, Managing Director for Dublin Airport. 鈥淎s the Managing Director of Dublin Airport, I am thrilled to be part of what is a great day for both Delta and the airport.” 

According to a Dublin Airport statement, 鈥淒elta Air Lines has been a key partner of Dublin Airport for nearly four decades, initially establishing a direct route between Dublin and Atlanta in 1988. Throughout this time, Delta has been instrumental in facilitating travel between Ireland and North America, contributing significantly to the airport’s growth, and serving millions of passengers.鈥� 

鈥淲ith its vibrant culture and thriving business community, offers an array of attractions for passengers, including the renowned Mall of America and the prestigious Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dublin Airport is committed to providing world-class facilities and experiences, exemplified by the US pre-clearance facilities available for Delta flights, ensuring seamless journeys for passengers, the statement adds. 

The commencement of Delta services to Minneapolis comes just two weeks after Aer Lingus began its own direct services on the route. The renewed flights (which were halted following the pandemic) began on April 29, 2024, and operate four times weekly, using either Airbus A330-200s or A330-300s depending on demand.聽聽

Speaking at the time of the launch, McLean said the restart of the route is good news for both passengers and the Irish economy.  

“The return of this route will further enhance tourism and trade between Ireland and the US. We have been working closely with Aer Lingus to grow its North American business, and the reintroduction of this route is a testament to that partnership,鈥� he said.

Lufthansa Innovation Hub identifies top cities for Advanced Air Mobility launch

• Aviation Technology and Innovation

byClement Charpentreau

2024-07-12

Premier Li will arrive in the Irish capital on January 16, 2024, shortly after 7pm local time on an Air China Boeing 747-8, the largest edition of the much loved 鈥楺ueen of the Skies鈥�.聽

The Boeing 747-8 stands at 76 meters in length and has a wingspan measuring 68 meters. 

The previous biggest commercial plane to land at DUB was a smaller variant of the 鈥楺ueen of the Skies鈥�, the Boeing 747-400, which has a wingspan measuring 64 meters and is 71 meters long. 

However, the largest aircraft to ever land at DUB was the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military aircraft that arrived at the airport in 2019. 

鈥淭his will be the biggest commercial aircraft to ever land at Dublin Airport and will join the long list of landmark moments in the long history of the airport, which this week celebrates its 84th birthday,鈥� Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at , said.聽

McQueen added: 鈥淭he runways at Dublin Airport have just about seen it all over the past eight decades, from numerous US Presidents, through to The Beatles and several Popes, but this is a first and the arrival of a 747-8 aircraft will mark yet another significant milestone for the airport.鈥� 

During his time in Ireland Premier Li will meet with President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.聽

Two Boeing planes involved in a ground collision at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-01-16

The NBAA has written to the Irish Ambassador, Claire Cronin, expressing worries because DUB proposes to reduce non-scheduled flights, which would include business aviation, in order than it does not exceed its annual passenger limit of 32 million.聽

DAA, which manages the Irish capital精东影业 airport, applied to increase its passenger cap to 40 million in 2023. However, the process may take up to two years, and it needs to find ways to manage numbers in the meantime. 

According to the , DAA精东影业 CEO, Kenny Jacobs, told politicians that efforts to keep passenger numbers within the 32 million cap would impact business aviation.聽聽

鈥淚n essence, this action by the DAA will result in no business aviation flights being allowed to fly in or out of Dublin Airport until planning is secured to increase passenger capacity,鈥� the NBAA wrote in its letter to Cronin.  

The NBAA highlighted that business aviation flights are at the 鈥渃enter of much of the Irish-American economic relationship鈥� and that any sort of ban would 鈥済reatly hinder Ireland精东影业 attractiveness as a location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)鈥�. 

鈥淏usiness aviation activity also supports hundreds of jobs, many supporting U.S. companies, on and around the Dublin Airport. We expect that local businesses will eliminate many of these jobs should the DAA ban take effect.鈥� the NBAA wrote.聽

The NBAA has proposed that, should the application to increase the airport精东影业 passenger cap to 40 million be succesful, then 20,000 passengers should be allocated for business aviation. 

鈥淭his represents a mere 0.0625% of the passenger limit, maintaining access to Ireland and the Dublin area for business aviation, which brings substantial economic and commercial benefits while still adhering to the 32 million cap,鈥� the NBAA advised Cronin.  

DAA told the Irish Times that it will stay under the 32 million passenger cap until the situation changes. 

鈥淭he current cap is leading to discussions with all aviation customers, including those who operate general aviation and charter flights, and DAA will continue to work with the slot co-ordination process to try to achieve the best outcome,鈥� an airport spokesman said. 

In a similar vein, an effort to ban business jets from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) was suspended late last year.聽

Airbus smashes CEO精东影业 prediction after planemaker delivers 735 aircraft in 2023

• Aircraft

byIan Molyneaux

2024-01-12

This quiet time is also a special day for the airport. December 25 is when Dublin Airport holds its annual blessing of the planes. 

On December 25, 2023, the airport精东影业 chaplain, Father Des Doyle, was escorted by airport crew to officiate the blessing of aircraft. Doyle has been the airport精东影业 chaplain since 2008.

Judging by Dublin Airport精东影业 Facebook page, Father Des Doyle had been blessing the planes as far back as 2016.

Graeme McQueen, media relations manager for Dublin Airport operator Dublin Airport Authority (daa) told CNN that the airport精东影业 annual blessing ceremony dates back to 1947.

McQueen said that the blessing originally only involved Aer Lingus aircraft, all of which are named after saints. Now, though, the blessing covers all planes and is ecumenical. 

Ireland remains a predominantly Catholic country. In the 2022 census, 69% (3.5 million) of the population in the country identified as Catholic.

The tradition of blessing planes dates back to 1920, when aviation experts and pioneers asked Pope Benedict XV to bless their work and the skies.

The pope obliged, and declared Our Lady of Loretto to be the patron saint of aviation.

With a feast day of December 10, Our Lady of Loretto has since been known to be the patron Saint of air travelers, pilots, airmen, flight attendants, builder, and construction workers.聽

Dublin Airport expects 432,000 passengers over St Patrick精东影业 long weekend

• Airport

byJean Carmela Lim

2023-03-14

Passenger numbers at Cork Airport are set to hit 2.75 million this year, a new record. In November 2023, 191,000 passengers traveled through the airport, up 14% on the same month last year.  

Meanwhile, the latest figures from daa, which owns and operates both Cork and Dublin (DUB) airports, show that almost 2.2 million passengers passed through the doors of Dublin Airport last month, up 4% on the same month the previous year. A further 102,000 transfer and transit passengers used Dublin Airport during the month. 

The latest traffic data released by daa shows that the busiest day of travel at the two airports in November was November 5, the final day of the mid-term school holidays in the country. Almost 98,000 passengers passed through Dublin Airport that day, while nearly 10,000 passengers flew to and from Cork Airport. 

According to other details revealed by daa, 95% of passengers at Dublin Airport passed through security screening in under 15 minutes in November, with 99% going through in less than 20 minutes. At Cork airport, 97% cleared security in less than 15 minutes, and 99% in less than 20 minutes. 

The airport authority is already looking ahead to a bumper end to the year for both airports, as well as further beyond. However, growth at Dublin is likely to be restricted while a local authority-imposed capacity cap remains in place.聽

“Mid-December will also see a new Infrastructure Application submitted to Fingal County Council, which would enable Dublin Airport to grow beyond the current 32 million passenger cap,” said Kenny Jacobs, the CEO of daa.  

鈥淎s it stands, that application is likely to take at least two years to be approved, which will result in stalled growth at Dublin Airport in both 2024 and 2025,” he 补诲诲别诲.听

Jacobs said the new planning application will look for an increase in the passenger cap. It will also seek permission to build more modern and sustainable infrastructure, which is needed to reduce Dublin Airport精东影业 scope two emissions and meet its target of being net zero for carbon by 2050. 

DAA said the carbon per passenger at Dublin Airport was 0.84kg in November, down 4% on the 2022 performance. It said this data relates to the airport精东影业 scope One and Two emissions and is a rolling annual average carbon figure. 

“Independent analysis has found that keeping the current 32 million cap would lead to Ireland forgoing an additional 17,800 jobs and 鈧�1.5 billion ($1.65 bn) in Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2030,” said Jacobs. “By 2055, the number of jobs lost to Ireland would be 53,300, while 鈧�4.4 billion ($4.84 bn) would be lost in GVA to the Irish economy. We simply need to build for Ireland’s future population and economic growth,” he added. 

Jacobs said that daa will continue discussing with airlines about their schedules for next spring, summer, and beyond to ensure that passenger numbers for 2024 will remain below the 32 million level cap. 

“Until planning permission to grow beyond 32 million passengers is granted, daa will have to manage the passenger capacity to ensure that current planning restrictions are not breached,” he added. 

In September 2023, Dublin-based Ryanair announced that it would pull 17 routes from Dublin and redeploy 19 Boeing 737s from Dublin Airport to other bases.鈥疻hile the airline is unhappy with rising taxes and operating fees being imposed on airlines at the airport, the carrier is also reportedly having its growth plans frustrated by the airport精东影业 capacity cap.聽聽

On September 21, 2023, Ryanair published a video and a social media post outlining its grievances and threatening to remove 17 routes and move 19 of the carrier精东影业 newest, environmentally friendly aircraft to other European airports.

Dublin Airport later released a press release hitting back at the airline and 鈥渃ategorically denied false claims鈥� made by Ryanair.

Ryanair claims is planning to 鈥渨aste $266 million of taxpayers’ money on a pointless underground tunnel to nowhere鈥� and is increasing airport charges by 45%.

The carrier also claims that the daa are 鈥渦nwinding鈥� the government精东影业 work on the Traffic Recovery Support Scheme (TRSS) scheme, which aims to recover passenger traffic to Dublin Airport.

It also says the airport offers airlines 鈥渘o incentives to grow traffic鈥� or 鈥渆nvironment incentives to reward investment in quieter, more fuel-efficient aircraft鈥�.

鈥渄aa精东影业 tunnel vision is bad for passengers, bad for jobs, bad for connectivity, and bad for growing the Irish economy,鈥� a spokesperson for Ryanair said in a statement.

In response the daa denied that airport charges will increase by 45% next year, stating that they will in fact only increase by 6% in 2024.

鈥淩egulated charges at Dublin Airport, which are set by the aviation regulator, the IAA (formerly CAR), and not daa,鈥� Dublin Airport said in a statement.

Today Ryanair announces Dublin airport will lose 17 routes & 19 enviro friendly aircraft due to DAA 45% increase in costs.

— Ryanair (@Ryanair)

Kenny Jacobs, daa精东影业 CEO, was clearly frustrated at Ryanair精东影业 claims and issued a response directed at the airline.

鈥淚 am surprised and disappointed that Ryanair would seek to reconfigure its based aircraft at Dublin Airport this winter when they could pay even lower ultra-low-cost charges if they choose to avail of the suite of sustainability incentives, we have proposed for 2024. I am baffled why any airline with sustainability ambitions would choose to turn down the opportunity to operate lower CO鈧� emission and less noisy aircraft at Dublin Airport by turning down the new discount schemes. The Ryanair decision to reduce their MAX fleet at Dublin Airport next winter is adding to their cost base when by actually increasing the MAX fleet they would in fact pay even less in 2024 than they will in 2023,鈥� Jacobs wrote.

Jacob精东影业 advised Ryanair to 鈥渞edo their sums and more importantly study the range of sustainability incentives proposed at Dublin Airport” rather than 鈥渄epending on back of a scratch card mathematics鈥�.

Jacobs added: 鈥溾�淩yanair精东影业 claim that Dublin Airport offers no incentives to airlines is also FALSE. A traffic recovery scheme is in place at Dublin Airport that has worked incredibly well and has facilitated the speedy 100% bounce back in activity at Dublin Airport post-Covid. This scheme will remain in place for another 6 months, including the winter period that Ryanair is focused on. As the biggest beneficiary of the TRSS scheme, we can understand why Ryanair would like to see it remain in place beyond next March, but we are happy that Dublin Airport精东影业 growth has recovered to pre-pandemic levels and we do not need to incentivize new growth given Dublin Airport has a planning capacity limit of 32 million passengers per annum鈥�.

The daa also said it was untrue that it has no plan to invest in new and better infrastructure at Dublin Airport and that it had already announced significant capital infrastructure ambitions for both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

鈥淩yanair精东影业 claim that an underpass is not needed at Dublin Airport is, once again, FALSE. The Underpass is essentially a safety project, which will contribute to effective and efficient airfield operations and maintain operations in the West Apron. We have reviewed all options, including solutions in place at other European airports, and both the aviation regulator and daa agree the underpass solution is the optimum one from a safety perspective and we never compromise on safety,鈥� Jacobs concluded.

The daa finished its statement announcing that details about a new low emissions discount are due to be circulated to airline customers in the coming days and therefore Ryanair精东影业 claims were 鈥減remature鈥�.

Singapore’s Changi Airport to offer passport-free clearance by 2024

• Airport

byJean Carmela Lim

2023-09-21

Airlines and airports have warned passengers that potential disruptions could continue on August 29, 2023, a day after NATS, the ATC provider for the UK, suffered a technical issue with its systems.

鈥淔lights may be subject to delay or cancellation as a result of yesterday精东影业 technical issues with Air Traffic Control systems across UK airspace,鈥� London Luton Airport (LTN) said in a statement published to X (formerly known as Twitter) on August 29, 2023.

In a statement published to X on the same day, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) noted that 鈥渢here may be some continuing disruption on some routes, including flight cancellations鈥�.

鈥淚t is important for all passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport and for those passengers who need to rebook to contact their airline directly rather than travelling to Heathrow,鈥� the statement continued.

鈥淟ike other airlines operating in the UK, we are continuing to experience the knock-on effects of yesterday精东影业 NATS Air Traffic Control issue, which includes unavoidable delays and cancellations,鈥� a British Airways spokesperson said in an email to 精东影业.

鈥淐ustomers travelling today on short-haul services can move their flight to a later date free of charge if they wish, subject to availability,鈥� the spokesperson continued.

According to an airport disruption map on Flightdar24.com, while flights to UK airports have been arriving with few delays, departures from several airports within the country have been impacted.

London-Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Belfast International Airport (BFS) are continuing to experience major problems, while Glasgow International Airport (GLA), Manchester International Airport (MAN), Birmingham Airport (BHX), Bristol Airport (BRS), LHR, and Ireland精东影业 Dublin Airport (DUB) have witnessed 鈥渕inor problems with some delays or few cancelations鈥�.

Meanwhile, EUROCONTROL精东影业 Network Operations Portal (NOP) warned of some delays at airports across the UK, with a map showing delays of up to 15 and 30 minutes for certain areas of the country at the time of writing. In its latest tactical update at 7:00 am UTC, the company did not highlight any 鈥渕oderate to high delays鈥� within the UK airspace.

NATS encountered issues with its systems on August 28, 2023. In an initial statement at 12:10 pm local time (UTC +1) on August 28, 2023, the company said that it was 鈥渆xperiencing a technical issue鈥� and has 鈥渁pplied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety鈥�.

In an update provided later the same day at 2:20 pm local time (UTC +1), the ATC provider clarified that the problem affected its ability to automatically process flight plans, forcing controllers to input flight plans manually. As such, the company had to restrict the flow of traffic from and to the UK.

The problem was fixed by 3:15 pm local time (UTC +1), with NATS saying that it had 鈥渋dentified and remedied the technical affecting our flight planning system this morning鈥�.

UK ATC forced to file flight plans manually following IT issue

• Airport

byRytis Beresnevicius

2023-08-28

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was due to fly to Philadelphia Airport (PHL) from Terminal 2 on July 9, 2023, but following the accident the flight was understandably cancelled.聽聽

Photos taken of the incident show an Aer Lingus sponsored jetbridge pointing towards the ground, below where the door was ripped off.  

In another photo the American Airlines aircraft door can clearly be seen lying on the airport tarmac.  

鈥淎n American Airlines aircraft was damaged due to a jetbridge malfunction at Dublin Airport (DUB). No customers or crew were on board at the time and there were no reported injuries,鈥� American Airlines said in a statement.  

The carrier also confirmed it was sending a replacement aircraft to operate Flight AA723, with the service from DUB to PHL, expected to depart on Monday, July 10, 2023.  

鈥淲e apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and thank our team for their professionalism,鈥� 补诲诲别诲.听

Airport management firm, daa, also confirmed that the incident occurred on Sunday in a statement.  

鈥淒aa can confirm an incident which resulted in damage to American Airlines aircraft by an air bridge at Dublin Airport this morning. There were no reports of any injuries to any passengers or crew,鈥� daa said.聽聽

No survivors: Six people dead in Southern California plane crash

• Civil Aviation

byJean Carmela Lim

2023-07-10