The Irish Aviation Authority is a commercial semi-state company in Ireland responsible for the regulation of safety aspects of air travel. It is also responsible for providing air traffic control services to Ireland's three main airports, namely Dublin, Shannon and Cork. Its head office is in The Times Building in Dublin.
Background
The authority regulates the safety standards of Irish civil aviation and provides air traffic management and aeronautical communications services in Irish controlled airspace. The authority was established under the . The authority controls air traffic for all the major international airports in Ireland.
Dublin – There are approximately 79 air traffic controllers in Dublin. The vertical limit of Dublin's airspace is Flight Level 245. Dublin Airport is by far the busiest airport in Ireland. Estimates for 2017 show 29.6 million passengers going through the airport.
Cork – Cork ATC provides an approach and an aerodrome service to traffic arriving and departing Cork. The Cork Control Zone has a radius of and a vertical limit of.
The smaller airports such as Ireland West Airport Knock provide their own approach and aerodrome service. In recent years, the authority has invested more than €115 million in air traffic control systems. This includes a new air traffic control centre at Ballycasey Cross, Shannon. Built on a Greenfield site, this ATCC became fully operational in February 2004 and replaces the ATC Centre at Shannon Airport which had been in operation since 1966. The new ATC centre houses the Shannon element of the new Air Traffic Management system introduced in Shannon and Dublin in 2004. The authority is also responsible for providing communications in Shanwick airspace, with NATS providing the ATC from Prestwick. Shannon Aeradio, as it is known, is based in Ballygirreen, Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare. In October 2009, it was announced that the regulatory aspects of the IAA's remit would be transferred to the Dublin Transport Authority, later renamed the National Transport Authority. In July 2015, the Irish government revealed plans to purchase a long-range radar system at a cost of €10 million for the Irish Aviation Authority and Irish Defence Forces to keep track of covert aircraft flying in Irish-controlled airspace, including military aircraft that do not file a flight plan and do not have their transponders switched on. Minister for DefenceSimon Coveney said the increased surveillance capability would give better coverage of the Atlantic airspace over which the IAA has responsibility for civil and military aircraft.
