IAA Introduce SERA – Single European Rules of the Air
In line with all other EU Member States, Ireland introduced the Single European Rules of the Air (SERA) legislation (EC 923/2012) on 4th December. While the new rules are broadly similar to the existing rules, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is in the process of creating a comparison matrix that will highlight any changes, which will be published shortly. Most recent figures for October 2014 show that total flights in Irish airspace have increased by a robust 2.7% during the month when compared to October 2013. There was an average of 1,551 daily flights during the month, with the busiest day being 17th October with 1,729 flights in Irish airspace. On a cumulative basis, commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports for the period January to October 2014 was up 6.4% when compared to the same period in 2013 however individual performances varied widely. Commercial terminal traffic at Dublin and Shannon continued to climb strongly in October with Shannon again performing best on a percentage basis with commercial movements up 29.8% from 1,566 to 2,033, an average of 66 per day. Dublin also performed well with 503 daily movements, up 8.1% when compared to October 2013 (from 14,435 to 15,605) and it is the strongest in movement terms. This is the tenth consecutive month of growth this year at Dublin and the seventh at Shannon. Cork again fared worse continuing its disappointing trend. Terminal traffic was down 2.9% (from 1,729 to 1,679) with an average of 54 daily commercial movements. Figures for Ireland’s en route traffic (flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land) and North Atlantic Communications (Europe/North America) also showed mixed results in October. North Atlantic Communications flights (between Europe/North America) increased by 1.6% (from 35,794 to 36,350), during October compared to the same month in 2013. However, there was a marginal 0.5% decline in Ireland’s en route traffic movements (flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land) during October 2014, in comparison to October 2013 from 27,083 to 26,952 movements. However, on a cumulative basis, the change in en route traffic movements and North Atlantic Communications flights for the period January-October 2014, compared to the same period last year, was 1% and 4% respectively.
The Irish Aviation and Aerospace sector held a cross-industry working group hosted by the IAA on 30th October in Dublin. Supported by the Embassy from India and the IAA, working with the Ireland India Business Association, as well as the Department of Transport and related organisations in India, the initiative was to provide material for an interim report prepared by consultancy KFVC, entitled ‘Bilateral trade and collaboration opportunities between India and Ireland in the Aviation and Aerospace sectors’. The report was launched on the 12th November at the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin during the Ireland India Business Association Annual lunch which is sponsored by Etihad. The Report outlined the significant opportunities for Irish aviation and aerospace businesses in India which is likely to be one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world in the next decade.
About the Author
Jim Lee Jim has had a life-long interest in military matters and aviation. Initially, he fused both of these interests together with a passion for military aviation, initially as a photographer. He has travelled extensively over the years and has been the guest of many European air forces, plus the air forces of the United States, Russia and others throughout the world. His first introduction to journalism coincided with an interest in the civil aviation industry was when he initially wrote for and later edited, ‘Aviation Ireland’, the club magazine of the Aviation Society of Ireland. Jim was a contributor to Flying in Ireland since its inception over 10 years ago and is now a key contributor to this site. He has also contributed items for a number of other aviation magazines and has produced a number of detailed contributions to Government policy documents, most recently the Irish Government’s White Paper on Defence. He is also deeply involved in the local community and voluntary sector and has worked both in local government and central government.
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