Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
191. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport the number of times a plane (details supplied) landed in Ireland; and if the State has a record of passenger manifests from these arrivals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15201/26]
View answerMy officials have reviewed the electronic records held by my Department, in relation to flight authorisations, and have not found any record of that aircraft ever having received an authorisation.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation signed at Chicago on 7 December 1944, and its associated annexes, established the framework for the operation of international civil aviation. Both Ireland and the United States are contracting states to this Convention.
Article 5 of this Convention provides that all aircraft of the other contracting states, while not engaged in scheduled international air services, shall have the right to overfly and to make stops for non-traffic purposes without the necessity of obtaining prior permission.
This provision is provided for in Irish law in Article 3 of the Air Services Authorisation Order 1993.
Stops at Irish airports, by private aircraft, which are technical stops for non-traffic purposes (i.e. not picking up or setting down passengers), do not require prior authorisation from my department. Such technical stops at airports are operational matters for the airports in question or the ground handlers managing the technical stop.
The regulations around the submission of passenger data relate only to licensed air transport operators and such matters are under the remit of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
