The professional airline pilot body Ialpa, which is also a branch of Fórsa, has commenced lobbying activity on the application for the authorisation of ‘fifth freedom’ operations by Ethiopian Airlines in Ireland.

IALPA has urged its members to write to their TDs to say the application ought to be rejected, highlighting concerns that a successful application by the airline would open entry to the Irish market of a non-EU airline providing a service between Brussels and Dublin in competition with Irish-based carriers.

The pilot body says that the potential entry of a non-EU operator, at a time when Irish aviation is still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has the potential to lower employment standards for Irish aviation workers.

IALPA president Captain Evan Cullen said the Irish aviation industry is only just emerging from its the worst crisis since the industry’s foundation.

“Two years of heavily restricted operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic have inflicted very significant damage to airlines, support industries and upon every household that relies on an income from Ireland’s aviation industry.

“At the height of the pandemic, most aviation workers were surviving on a fraction of their normal salary, and we’re now in the early stages of recovery from that experience, with a welcome return to busier schedules, though not yet to capacity.

“The industry here remains vulnerable, and I believe it’s essential that we do all we can to protect it as it works its way back to a healthier commercial and operational position,” he said.

While recovery is still in its early stages, Fórsa assistant general secretary Ian McDonnell said the entry of a new airline availing of fifth freedom rights would be an extra challenge to an industry trying to get back on its feet.

“It’s possible that there are a number of fresh crises on their way for Irish aviation, while the full repercussions of escalating fuel costs caused by war in Ukraine remain unknown.

“Additionally, any entry into the Irish market of an operator whose staff are working under lower employment standards raises very serious concerns for those of us representing workers in the Irish aviation industry.

“The presence of such an operator in the Irish market has the potential to erode terms and conditions, generating the potential for a ‘race to the bottom’ of terms and conditions at a time when post-pandemic pay recovery has only just got underway,” he said.