An airline company alleged to have illegally transported Israeli-bound military equipment through Irish airspace has started routing its aircraft around Ireland since news of the flights broke.
The Challenge Group has been accused of transporting tonnes of military goods over Ireland in potential breach of Irish law. Since details of the flights appeared on the Ditch, an online news site, at the start of September, the airline has been routing its cargo flights just outside of Irish sovereign airspace.
It is not known if these recent flights were carrying military goods. The Challenge Group did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
It comes as Tánaiste Micheál Martin confirmed that “quite a number” of flights have been in violation of Irish sovereign airspace and suggested the Government may consider a ban on companies that are found to in breach of air cargo rules.
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Under Irish law, airlines carrying “munitions of war” must apply for permission from the Minister for Transport before bringing the goods through Irish sovereign airspace. The department has previously confirmed that no licences for the transport of such goods to Israel were sought in 2023 or to date in 2024.
Late last month, the Ditch website reported that various munitions had been transported over Ireland on Challenge Group aircraft. This material was flown from the US to Israel, via Belgium, after passing over Ireland and included missile parts, rifle ammunition and tear gas canisters.
An analysis of flight records, using the flight tracking software Flightaware, shows that since news of the transports was first reported, Challenge has largely stopped flying its aircraft in Irish sovereign airspace.
Flights from New York and Texas have instead taken longer routes, travelling above or below the Republic on their way to Belgium.
On September 4th, a Challenge flight from Liège in Belgium flew just north of Ireland, avoiding sovereign Irish airspace, while on the way to New York.
[ Companies in breach of Irish air space rules may be banned, says TaoiseachOpens in new window ]
The next day, it returned to Liège, again avoiding Irish sovereign airspace by flying south off Co Cork. Previous flights on this route flew directly over Ireland, the tracking software shows.
On September 16th, another Challenge flight flew from Houston in Texas to Liège by travelling off the north of Ireland. Before September, Challenge flights on this route also flew directly over Ireland.
The Department of Transport has confirmed it has found nine flights destined for Israel which flew through Irish airspace without permission.
The department said it is still working to confirm the aircraft were carrying munitions of war. A spokeswoman said it is as yet “not yet definitively clear” if the cargo required a ministerial exemption.
Irish sovereign airspace extends 22km from the coast and is subject to Irish laws. It is distinct from Irish-controlled airspace, which extends much further into the Atlantic, and is merely the area subject to Irish air traffic control.
On Monday, Mr Martin said there must be consequences for companies that flout Irish laws.
“In terms of planes flying in Irish airspace, sovereign airspace, Government never received any requests. The Department of Transport has been engaging the relevant authorities in respect of this and the particular company. And we facilitated in terms of dialogue with the Belgian government,” Mr Martin said.
“Clearly, now there have been quite a number of flights that have been in violation of our sovereign airspace. It now remains for Government, as we go forward, to get further clarifications and verification of the cargo on those planes to take whatever actions. I think the basic action is the possibility of saying to those companies that you may not fly through Irish aerospace, if you violate the basic rules that govern this.”
Asked if he was in favour of such a ban, he said: “That’s about what we can do. We’re not going to be flying planes, shadowing planes, that’s not going to be a reality, let’s be honest. But in the multilateral world, we expect companies to abide by the basic rules. And the basic rules here are, if you wish to bring a cargo through our sovereign airspace, and then that gets considered by the Department of Transport, that’s the norm.
“That’s what happens, and we expect airlines to comply with that. And if they don’t there has to be consequences, but that’s a matter of the Government which will we consider once we get a final report from the department.”
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