Major delays at Dublin Airport amid adverse weather and ATC staff shortages

Passengers jetting off from Dublin Airport were hit with delays on Tuesday, as a cocktail of dodgy weather and staff shortages threw a spanner in the works.

As the evening rolled in, 19 Ryanair flights destined for spots all over Europe were left hanging, with some folks twiddling their thumbs for an hour before takeoff. But it wasn’t just Ryanair feeling the pinch; over 44 flights from a medley of carriers, including the likes of Aer Lingus, Emirates, and British Airways, faced the music too, with arrivals into Dublin running up to two hours late.

A nasty blend of grim weather and a pinch point in European Air Traffic Control staffing caused the root of the trouble. Dubliners woke up to a status yellow weather alert across 18 counties, and the heavens opened up, drenching the capital all day long, with more downpours on the cards into Wednesday’s wee hours, reports the Irish Mirror.

Read more: Yellow warning in place as miserable conditions to hit Ireland

Read more: Aer Lingus accepts Labour Court’s recommendation amid ongoing industrial action

Shaun’s Aviation, a top dog among Ireland’s aviation scribes, gave his Twitter followers the heads-up about the snarl-up earlier in the day, pointing the finger at a Reduced Visibility Procedure (RVP) that left just one of Dublin Airport’s three runways open for business. His tweet read: “Over 17 aircraft are in the queue for takeoff at Dublin Airport this afternoon due to RVP (Reduced Visibility Procedure) being in place, meaning only one runway is in operation.”

“ATC have put a restriction on aircraft departing, only one aircraft can push back every 230 seconds. ATC also have an Estimated taxi time of 40 minutes for departures! “.

Ryanair also apologised after some delays were experienced due to European Air Traffic Control staff shortages, which have impacted all European airlines. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “ATC services, which have had the benefit of no French ATC strike disruption this summer, continue to underperform (despite flight volumes being five per cent behind 2019 levels) with repeated “staff shortages”.”

“On Tuesday 9 July, 14 per cent of Ryanair’s first wave departures (68 of 580 aircraft) were delayed due to ATC ‘staff shortages’. These repeated flight delays due to ATC mismanagement are unacceptable. We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.”

For a list of flight delays arriving at Dublin Airport and departing from the hub, check here.

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