Ms Lynne Embleton:

On the question of the data, I agree that it will put US passengers off considering Ireland in their travel plans, but the issue of families, particularly isolating children whose parents are vaccinated, is an even greater impediment to travel and one that needs to be addressed with some urgency.

I fully understand the balanced regional development objectives and share in the hope that Aer Lingus can play its part in the prosperity of Shannon and the regions, but we have spoken about the measures already. First and foremost, we need flying with hurdles removed. We are seeking the rebate of airport charges to encourage routes to get flying again and aircraft back in the air. We want specific stimulus packages and airport rebates considered to encourage a more rapid restoration of routes that airlines view from a commercial perspective as riskier and later in the plan.