Vol. 458 No. 8
183 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the way in which the recently announced Aer Lingus Chicago service will comply with the terms of the Ireland/United States bilateral air transport agreement. [17892/95]
The Ireland US Air Transport Agreement, as amended, provides that each US and Irish airline may operate one scheduled non-stop flight to/from Dublin for each scheduled non-stop flight that the airline operates to/from Shannon. The entitlement for non-stop Dublin flights is applied on a 12 month basis encompassing one summer and one winter traffic season. The entitlement is calculated on the basis of the total number of scheduled flights between the US and Ireland by each airline and not on a route-by-route basis.
The question of compliance by airlines with the Ireland/US Agreement is closely monitored by my Department. In this regard, Aer Lingus have supplied my Department with full details of their proposed 1996 summer and winter transatlantic programme (commencing 31 March 1996) which includes the new Chicago service. While the actual number of flights may vary slightly from the current programme, I can say that Aer Lingus propose to operate about 1,500 one way flights to/from Shannon and about 1,000 flights to/from Dublin during the 12 months in question. On this basis, Aer Lingus will meet the terms of the Ireland/US Agreement.
My Department and Aer Lingus maintain an on-going liaison in relation to their transatlantic programme and any amendments for operational or other reasons are notified to my Department.
