Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The aviation sector has been cyclical in nature and in the past decade or so, has been significantly adversely affected by events such as the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the record peak in oil prices in 2008. The current global recession is the latest crisis to hit the sector which historically, has had low profitability and is also known to be structurally weak due to general over-capacity.

This year is proving to be an exceptionally difficult year for the industry. The International Air Transport Association's, IATA, latest forecast is that the global air transport industry will suffer losses of $11 billion in 2009. It has revised this estimate upwards twice since the start of the year as the effect of the recession on air travel has been more severe than initially envisaged.

Many airlines are currently undertaking radical restructuring or, in some cases, going out of business and some Irish carriers are also experiencing significant difficulties, particularly those whose cost bases are out of line with their competitors. Airports are also being deeply affected as airlines are cutting back on capacity and routes in response to falling demand for air travel. The impact is being experienced across the world and is not unique to Irish airports.

The continued roll-out of the Dublin Airport Authority's investment programme, including the completion of terminal two which is designed to strengthen airport capacity for the long term, and the introduction of US preclearance facilities, will provide airlines with opportunities to develop and grow new services and attract new carriers to Dublin when trading conditions improve.

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