'Ireland must heed warning of Heathrow power outage, says Limerick Chamber

THE POWER outage at London Heathrow Airport should serve as a warning against putting too much traffic through Dublin.

That’s the view of Limerick Chamber, which has urged Government to take immediate action to decentralise air traffic in Ireland.

The electrical fault at Britain’s largest airport caused chaos to 250,000 passengers, with the facility closed for a whole day.

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In Ireland, Dublin handles the majority of Ireland’s air traffic - with the other airports only welcoming just 15% of inbound traffic.

Limerick Chamber believes the reliance on one airport can create a vulnerability to major disruptions in the event of a power outage, technical failure, or security incident.

Chamber chief executive Michelle Gallagher said: “The Heathrow outage has exposed the risks of over-centralisation in aviation. Ireland must act now to safeguard our connectivity and resilience. Regional airports such as Shannon and Cork have the capacity and infrastructure to handle a greater share of air traffic, enhancing both national resilience and security.”

“This is not just an issue of economic and regional development, it’s a national security concern,” said Seán Golden, chief economist and director of policy at the Chamber.

He pointed out the nation’s current aviation strategy is a decade old.

Given the current international environment, which he describes as “tumultuous” he says it is “inappropriate” to rely on this.