Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

On most days, there are upwards of 30,000 flights with more than 3,000 aircraft in the air over Europe at the same time. While that fact would once have given me some cause for concern, thankfully it no longer bothers me so much.

In the coming years, this airspace will become busier, as Europe's air traffic has grown by 14% in the past six years and by more than 4.5% within the past 12 months alone. Hence, air traffic is growing rapidly and the forecasted growth for the coming year is in the order of 3%, with peaks of growth in eastern Europe. It is estimated that Croatia's traffic will grow by 18%, that of Slovakia by 17% and that of Poland by 16%. All of them are signatories to the Eurocontrol convention. Overall, air traffic growth in Europe in the next seven years is expected to be in the order of 3.7% annually.

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