Delays Eliminated, Dublin Air Traffic Up
The Irish Aviation Authority has consistently and significantly outperformed the European average for air traffic management-attributable delays over the last four years, contributing just 0.001% of total European delays.
From January to April 2013, all Irish air traffic control-attributable delays were due to weather conditions. This is significant against a background of increasing air traffic at Ireland’s busiest airport, Dublin.
Key factors in the IAA’s ability to practically eliminate air traffic management-attributable delays are its commitment to employing the most up-to-date technologies and the innovative streamlining of Irish airspace. The IAA’s COOPANS air traffic management system is one of the most advanced in Europe. The system equips air traffic controllers with leading edge functionalities, while maintaining maximum levels of safety and increasing capacity to meet the demands of airlines customers.
Innovative airspace initiatives also work to eradicate delays, such as Dublin Point Merge (implemented in December 2012), which enables more efficient aircraft approaches and practically eliminates traditional holding patterns.
Peter Kearney, Director ATM Operations and ATM strategy said: ‘The fact that the IAA has established such a great record on eliminating delays is a testament to how efficiently we manage Irish airspace, while maintaining the highest safety standards. This reflects the innovative airspace changes that we have introduced, the cutting edge air traffic management technology we use and the skills and hard work of our air traffic controllers’.
Commercial terminal flights at Dublin in April were up by 1.2% when compared to the same month last year, which reflects a continuing upward trend. On a cumulative basis, commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports for January to April 2013 was up by 0.3%, compared to the same period in 2012.
Total flights in Irish airspace in April have decreased marginally by -1.1%, when compared to April 2012. There was an average of 1,444 daily flights during April 2013, with the busiest day being 26th April with 1,608 flights in Irish airspace.
There was a decrease of -1.6% in Ireland’s en-route traffic movements (flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land) during April 2013, in comparison to April 2012. Similarly, North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /North America) saw a decrease of -1.6% in April 2013, when compared to April 2012.
Statistics on the IAA’s most important airport pairs (from a billing perspective) published by EUROCONTROL this month were encouraging. Five of Ireland’s top ten ‘Airport Pairs’ showed growth (or neutral growth), when compared to April 2012. The most significant growth was for London/Heathrow – Chicago O’Hare Intl (8.1%), Washington – London/Heathrow (4.7%) and Newark – London/Heathrow (4.3%).
