Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 December 2023
174. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport the grounds on which aircraft on contract to the US military transportation command are being allowed by his Department to transit through Shannon Airport and through Irish airspace on their way to and from supporting wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, including Israeli bombardment of Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54354/23]
View answerThe 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 parties to this Convention.
Article 5 of this Convention provides for the right of air operators of contracting parties to operate non-scheduled over-flights and/or stop for non-traffic purposes (e.g., refuelling) in the territory of the other contracting parties.
This provision is provided for in Irish law in Article 3 of the Air Services Authorisation Order 1993.
Further to the above, the "open skies" Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between the European Union and the United States provides the formal framework for commercial air transport operations between both territories.
This outlines how civil air operators from the United States, operating commercially, are allowed to overfly Irish sovereign territory or stop for non-traffic purposes at Irish airports.
EU regulations place additional obligations on third country air operators, when operating commercially into the territory of the EU, to meet, for example, specified insurance requirements and to hold a safety authorisation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft in Irish sovereign territory is prohibited, unless an exemption to do so is granted by the Minister for Transport.
Applications for exemptions from US civil air operators, contracted by the US military, are in respect of the personal unloaded weapons of the military personnel that are being transported on the aircraft concerned.
In 2023, no applications have been received or exemptions granted to permit the carriage of munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory for a flight from the United States destined for a point in either Ukraine or Israel.
