Mr. Sean Doyle:

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have implemented the safety measures since May to ensure that flying is safe, that is, aircraft cleaning processes, the wearing of masks, health declarations that people submit before they travel, compliance with the passenger locator forms, and the filtering on aircraft which is as clean as a hospital operating theatre and is very effective at dealing with micro-organisms including the coronavirus. What we have heard from IATA thus far is that an aeroplane is a very safe place on which to travel. We do this. We adopted the EASA and the ECDC recommendations very early in the recovery period from the pandemic. What we are shining a light on today is the fact that public health policy and the political policy here in Ireland is out of sync with Europe and is not sustainable as we head into winter and may have to live with the coronavirus for a sustained period. We will have to live alongside the virus. The stated strategy was containment but the aviation strategy appears to be one of elimination and that has big consequences for aviation. We are happy to engage in ways we can support the opening up of borders but we have done everything we can as quickly and as proactively as we can to make sure the elements of travel we cover, when people get to an airport, get on an aircraft and get to the other end, are as safe and as reassuring as they can be.