Weapons flights exemptions which allow aircraft carrying munitions to fly through Irish airspace hit a 13-year high in 2024.
Last year, 1,354 flights permitted to overfly our airspace carrying weapons and ammunition - that’s according to a report in today’s Irish Times.
On Wednesday, a group of four Senators are set to put forward a bill that seeks to ensure that none of these flights are destined for Israel.
One of those Senators is Alicy Mary Higgins, who joined The Pat Kenny Show to discuss the issue.
“We know [the number of these flights] has increased particularly since we’ve had Israel’s assault on Gaza,” she said.
“For example, in terms of when we look at, say, Irish chartered flights, there were 26 of those in 2022, that's gone up to 159 - that’s Irish registered civil aircraft.
“We know that the flights have gone up just 14% in the last year and what the issue is we really don’t know because the Government have what I call an ‘eyes wide shut’ approach in terms of these weapons flights.”
Airplane prepares to land at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 5, 2018. (Photo by Silas Stein / dpa / AFP)According to Senator Higgins, Irish law states munitions are not meant to be carried through the country’s airspace unless an exemption is made.
“So, in each instance the Minister is deciding to authorise a flight,” she said.
“But what we also know is that only one per cent of the 9,848 applications in the last few years have been refused.
“We also know that there are no inspections happening; under the Air Navigation Act, the Minister has the right to choose whether or not – and it should be an exception, though it’s becoming a rule – to grant exemptions.”
Germany and US
Senator Higgins said while the full records of all the flights are not available, it is known that the largest number of exemptions have been sought by Germany and the United States.
“Germany went from 32 million in arms sales to Israel in 2022 to a tenfold increase, to 326 million in arms sales in 2023,” she said.
“We also know that the United States has sent military aid of at least $17 billion under Biden and a new $12 billion now under Trump to Israel.”
Senator Higgins said it must be ensured that the country is not being complicit in breaking international law by allowing these flights through our airspace.
Main image: A U.S. soldier watches a U.S. Air Force plane carrying weapons and equipment arrive at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
