Airlines and passengers will benefit from a new, €70 million air traffic management system, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said yesterday. The agency said the French-built Airsys would be operational by 2003 and would ensure that the IAA could cope with the increased levels of traffic.

Irish controllers handle almost three-quarters of all air traffic operating between Europe and the United States; the IAA said this volume was increasing by 5 per cent each year.