asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of occasions during each of the past 12 months on which permission has been granted for foreign military aircraft to fly over the State; in relation to the total number of approved flights, the nationality of the aircraft; the total number of occasions on which permission was refused; the nationality of the aircraft refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Military Overflights.
Information regarding overflights of the State by foreign military aircraft in the 12 months ended April 1989 is set out in the following tabular statement. There was no occasion in that period on which permission for an overflight was refused. Permission is normally granted provided that certain conditions are met, the most important of which are that the relevant aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and do not engage in intelligence gathering and that the flights in question do not form part of military exercises or operations.
Country |
1988 |
1989 |
||||||||||
May |
June |
July |
Aug. |
Sept. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan. |
Feb. |
March |
April |
|
Afghanistan |
— |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Algeria |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Australia |
2 |
2 |
— |
— |
2 |
2 |
— |
4 |
— |
— |
2 |
4 |
Belgium |
7 |
11 |
8 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
Canada |
39 |
77 |
85 |
86 |
35 |
19 |
17 |
18 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
32 |
Czechoslovakia |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
3 |
— |
— |
5 |
Egypt |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
France |
4 |
10 |
3 |
17 |
— |
4 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
4 |
— |
Federal Republic of Germany |
47 |
21 |
46 |
45 |
44 |
39 |
30 |
29 |
21 |
18 |
27 |
33 |
Great Britain |
135 |
90 |
123 |
123 |
98 |
111 |
102 |
71 |
71 |
76 |
107 |
119 |
India |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
Israel |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
— |
4 |
2 |
— |
2 |
4 |
— |
Italy |
3 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Jordan |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
2 |
2 |
— |
— |
2 |
New Zealand |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Singapore |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Spain |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Sweden |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
3 |
— |
— |
— |
Turkey |
1 |
3 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
United States of America |
389 |
458 |
384 |
442 |
334 |
378 |
248 |
308 |
298 |
297 |
315 |
369 |