Mr. Declan Fitzpatrick:

To be clear we are talking about the same thing, I know there was an expectation that when the new runway opened, flights would go straight ahead. When the procedures were designed, that was not the case. The procedures were designed to have the aircraft turn, initially 60°, I think, and then subsequently they were revised and there was a turn of 30°. To be clear, when they turn 30°, we are satisfied that they are following those procedures.

We also need to remember that, ultimately, it is the air traffic controller’s decision. In specific cases, at specific times, an air traffic controller may ask the airline to turn 40° or 20°.

They have that discretion. The purpose of instrument flight procedures is to provide a standard approach so that other than telling them to fly that flight path, the air traffic controller does not need to give step-by-step instructions. There can be deviations from the flight path. The expectation in north County Dublin originally was that it would be straight ahead. That was not the case. The procedures that were approved were at 30° and to take a different path from what they would originally have expected.