Airport delays forecast

Irish passengers must become accustomed to longer delays at airports as security is tightened following this week's attacks in the United States, according to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke.

Speaking in Brussels before an emergency meeting of EU Transport Ministers, the Minister declined to comment on the extra security measures introduced by Ryanair but said she expected airlines to take steps of their own. "We certainly should be prepared for longer delays and coming earlier to airports. The horror we saw this week is so huge and it affects all of us," she said.

Mrs O'Rourke flew to Brussels from the US, where she was on holiday when the attacks in New York and Washington took place.

The ministers discussed a proposal by the Belgian presidency to set up a special group to work out ways of tightening airport security. The Commission was pressing the ministers to agree on a plan to unite the EU's 15 air traffic systems into what is known as "a single European sky". The proposal has been blocked by a dispute between Spain and Britain about an airport near Gibraltar.

The EU Transport Commissioner, Ms Loyola de Palacio, claims that integrating airspace would not only ease congestion but improve security.

"If there is no integration, you can lose connections, lose contact. If you have a single sky, you can ensure more security," she said.