Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:161. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Transport the breakdown of the data held on the number of private jet flights through Irish airspace and Irish airports. [53376/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 July 2026
Ceisteanna (161)
Freagraí scríofa
In answering the Deputy’s question, it is important to first note that 'private jets' are not specifically defined in national, European or international law. The nature of ownership does not arise as a specific categorisation and therefore data is not collected specifically in relation to ‘private jets’.
The EUROCONTROL Market Segment Rules 'Business Aviation' category includes all Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) movements matching specific aircraft types listed within the business aviation rules. As such, this would incorporate 'private jet' flights alongside business/executive jet flights and turbo-prop aircraft.
Data received from Air Nav Ireland, drawn from all flight plan information, broadly mirrors the EUROCONTROL data, but also includes additional movements conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). This captures smaller aircraft flying by sight.
Information in relation to the number of private jet flights through Irish airspace is not readily available. However, Air Nav Ireland have provided the following information on the total arrivals and departures, at Irish airports, for 'business aviation', by jet aircraft (excluding turboprops) for 2026 (to 10 June 2026):
Arrivals: 2435
Departures: 2465
Please note that Air Nav Ireland has informed of the possibility for some small discrepancies in these figures for those flights that first filed operations as Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), which then changed to Visual Flight Rules (VFR), or vice versa. Irish Air Corps flights are not included.