Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

Covid-19: Impact on Aviation (resumed)

Mr. Sean Doyle:

Dublin Airport and the other airports in Ireland have adopted the EASA protocol on the advice of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That is welcome and it is reassuring for passengers who are flying in and out of the airports that we are compliant and that it is safe to travel. It is worth noting about aviation industry in general and how we approach mitigating risk that we have a great track record of doing this. We have faced crises before in the aviation industry. We use data, mitigations and an onion-layer approach to dealing with risks such as Covid. The industry, and the airports within it, are responding quickly and effectively. We have had our mitigations in place since May. The industry has moved quickly to reassure people about the safety of flight. Other stakeholders should understand the urgency of restoring flight safely and move at that pace. I welcome the initiatives that the airports have put in place.