Ryanair has criticised the Government for failing to put in place contingency measures to keep airports open in the event of industrial disputes.
The airline said that the Government had promised four years ago to take steps to put such plans in place to prevent disruption to passengers.
The comments by Ryanair came after further disruption over the weekend at Dublin airport as a result of the ongoing dispute involving traffic controllers over staffing levels.
Some 10 flights into or out of Dublin were affected by the action, which closed the airport for several hours from late on Saturday night until Sunday morning.
Ryanair said the action by air traffic controllers had caused cancellations, delays and disruptions for thousands of passengers and visitors to this country.
Ryanair's head of communications, Peter Sherrard, said in a statement yesterday: "Where are the contingency plans promised by this Government 4½ years ago?
"Passengers should not be hijacked and held to ransom because of industrial action by air traffic controllers, which closes Irish airports.
The IAA [ Irish Aviation Authority] should have proper contingency plans in place, with management taking over and operating the role, thereby keeping the vital Irish airports open for business. It is up to the Irish Government to ensure that proper contingency plans are in place, as was promised 4½ years ago."
The Irish Aviation Authority said it was not expecting further disruption last night. Air traffic controllers, who are represented by the trade union Impact, are due to resume talks tomorrow with the IAA at the Labour Relations Commission in a bid to resolve the row over staffing levels.
Air traffic controllers last week served 14 days' formal notice of strike action to the IAA in a move that could ground flights coming in and out of the country. Almost 300 air traffic controllers voted by a majority of 99 per cent in favour of industrial action.
The air traffic controllers are essentially in dispute with the IAA about short-staffing and the amount of overtime they are being asked to do as a result.
Impact has said that air traffic controllers are under no contractual obligation to do overtime and that overtime was voluntary.
Services at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports have been affected over recent weeks on occasions when there have been insufficient volunteers to provide overtime cover.
Talks aimed at resolving the row over staffing levels have been under way at the Labour Relations Commission for a number of weeks.
