A second airport for Dublin?

Sir, – Brendan McMahon (Letters, April 6th) suggests converting Baldonnel Aerodrome into a second commercial airport for Dublin.

Though a nice idea in principle, the flight path for Runway 28, which would be required for the vast majority of arriving flights both due to prevailing winds and runway length, routes over Tallaght, Knocklyon, Ballinteer, Sandyford, Cabinteely, and Killiney.

Furthermore, it’s hard to see how constructing a new airport in this day and age would help achieve Ireland’s climate goals. – Yours, etc,

RICHARD BANNISTER,

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Kildare.

Sir, – Brendan McMahon’s statement “people like to fly into and out of Dublin” has to be challenged. I note he resides in Naas, making it most convenient for him, but if you happen to live beyond the Pale, the prospect of flying from Dublin turns into an arduous trek on a typically predawn, two hours plus bleary-eyed bus journey and at least another two-hour pre-flight airport experience, and all of this before the actual flight! Nightmarish would be an understatement. – Yours, etc,

MARY WILKINSON,

Barna,

Co Galway.

Sir, – A letter writer calls for the building of another airport in Dublin and justifies this by stating that most people want to fly in to and out of Dublin.

Where is the evidence for this? Unlike your letter writer, most people on this island do not live near Dublin: in fact, the population of Munster is almost the same as that of Dublin.

For those of us who live closer to other airports, beyond direct access to Britain and to European sun destinations, direct access to major continental European cities is less than satisfactory.

This forces us to trek to Dublin, polluting the countryside, using fuel unnecessarily, adding to congestion in Dublin and then clogging up Dublin airport. A particular case in point concerns the spectacular success of Bord Fáilte’s overseas promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way which attracted 3.4 million overseas tourists in 2019. However, since most flights already land in and depart from Dublin, millions of tourists wishing to access the Wild Atlantic Way every year have to make their way cross-country from Dublin, often in polluting public or private transport, while the airports closer to the Wild Atlantic Way, in Cork, Shannon, Kerry and Ireland-West, are vastly underused – and a delight to travel through! Where is the joined-up thinking and environmental planning? Why are the main regional airports being shunned while Dublin is given priority? Incompetence, lethargy or pure ideology?

What are the priorities of the Ministers with responsibility for transport, the environment and tourism, and the various other interested parties? – Yours, etc,

G NEVILLE,

Sunday’s Well,

Cork.

Sir, – I love the word “aerodrome”. It’s up there with omnibus and perambulator. – Yours, etc,

MARY BYRNE,

Dublin 8.