Air Safety

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Questions (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 61)

Holly Cairns

Question:

48. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the number of air traffic controllers employed in each of the years from 2018 to date in 2026, by location, in tabular form. [15301/26]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

49. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the number of instances of airspace closures from 2024 to date in 2026, by month and location; to provide the reasons for these closures, in tabular form. [15302/26]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

50. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport whether his attention has been drawn to reported airspace closures due to staff shortages in air traffic control; his Department's recruitment strategy to fill these roles; and when it is expected to reach full staffing levels. [15303/26]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

51. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport the number of air traffic controllers who have left their roles from 2018 to-date in 2026, by location; whether retention measures have been implemented to encourage qualified air traffic controllers from leaving their roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15304/26]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

52. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport whether he has considered the impact of the removal of the passenger cap on air traffic control operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15305/26]

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Eoin Hayes

Question:

61. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Transport the efforts being made to address the staffing issues with air traffic control; the service delivery assurances he can provide ahead of the peak summer travel period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15376/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Transport

I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 61 together.

AirNav Ireland is the State company with statutory responsibility for providing air navigation and related services within the 451,000 km2 of airspace controlled by Ireland. It also provides terminal air traffic control services at the three State airports, Dublin, Cork and Shannon.

AirNav is a wholly commercial company funded by way of charges on airlines for its services. It is regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) in respect of safety and the European Commission's performance and charging framework for the Single European Sky.

The performance and charging framework is designed to ensure the efficiency of European air navigation services across key performance areas such as safety, environment, capacity, and cost-efficiency. It includes EU-wide targets, performance plans and cost bases for charging by air navigation service providers. Ireland’s Performance Plan covering the period 2025-2029 (RP4), submitted to the European Commission by the IAA in August 2025 for review, addresses the provision by AirNav of en route air navigation services and terminal air traffic control services at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

Under the RP4 Plan it is planned that the number of air traffic controllers employed by AirNav would increase in increments to 364 by end 2029 to meet the expected increase in demand for AirNav's services. AirNav currently employs 324 air traffic controllers, up from 300 at end 2023 (including direct entry air traffic controllers in training and student air traffic controllers on On-the-Job Training).

While overtime remains integral to AirNav's 24-hour operations the reliance on overtime is expected to decrease as air traffic controller staffing numbers rise.

AirNav is actively recruiting and training student air traffic controllers to ensure it has the capacity to meet increased demand. AirNav expects to train 76 student controllers in 2026.

Additionally, AirNav has implemented a number of measures in recent years aimed at promoting staff retention including improvements to terms and conditions for staff amounting to €55m over the period of its Collective Labour Agreement for the period 2025-2029, increased allowances for student air traffic controllers, improved leave and rostering initiatives and accelerated recruitment of direct entry air traffic controllers. agreement.

AirNav is currently engaging with FÓRSA on these issues including staffing levels and overtime arrangements through the company’s Internal Dispute Resolution Board mechanism. That process must be respected and allowed to run its course.

It is important to note that the safe operation of Irish airspace is a priority for AirNav. It is also important to ensure the continued smooth operation of our airports and that any potential disruption to services and passengers is avoided.

The following table outlines air traffic controller numbers and leavers for the period from 2018 to date. These figures exclude direct entry air traffic controllers in training and student air traffic controllers on On-the-Job Training.

Year	Air Traffic Controllers	Resigned	Retired
2018	295	4	1
2019	309	3	6
2020	304	2	4
2021	294	7 (voluntary redundancy)	5
2022	291	5	1
2023	297	6	0
2024	303	10	0
2025	305	15	1
2026	303	1	0

The following table outlines student air traffic controllers on On-the-Job Training and direct entry air traffic controllers in training for the period 2023 to date

Year	Air Traffic Controllers	Student Air Traffic Controllers on On-the-Job Training	Direct Entry Air Traffic Controllers in Training	Total
2023	297	3	0	300
2024	303	4	0	307
2025	305	10	7	322
2026	303	15	6	324

The following table outlines the instances of zero flow rate (airspace closures) from 1 January 2024 to 17 February 2026

Date	Station	Airspace Action	Times	Reason
20/10/2024	Dublin	Zero arrival regulation	14:15 – 15:00	Restriction due to Storm Ashley
27/01/2026	Shannon Airport	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	08:30 – 09:00	Due to staffing shortage, no Approach Service available
30/01/2026	Dublin	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	02:00 – 02:30 04:05 – 04:35	Required to provide ATCO fatigue break due to staff shortage
02/02/2026	Dublin	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	02:00 – 02:30 04:05 – 04:35	Required to provide ATCO fatigue break due to staff shortage
11/02/2026	Cork	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	00:00 - 07:30	Due to staffing shortage no Approach services available
14/02/2026	Dublin	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	02:00 - 02:30 04:05 - 04.35	Required to provide ATCO fatigue break due to staff shortage
17/02/2026	Dublin	Zero arrival regulation Zero departure regulation	02:00 – 02:30 04:05 – 04:35	Required to provide ATCO fatigue break due to staff shortage

Question No. 49 answered with Question No. 48.

Question No. 50 answered with Question No. 48.

Question No. 51 answered with Question No. 48.

Question No. 52 answered with Question No. 48.