![]() ![]() ![]() On Monday, Ryanair reported a record annual loss of €815 million as restrictions forced the cancellation of more than 80 per cent of its flights. It has been another turbulent week for the airline industry in a time of Covid. Dublin Airport recorded 2,746 flights in April, a decrease of 86 per cent on the same month in 2019. There were 396,568 flights handled in the year to April – a drop of 63 per cent. Air traffic fell by more than 700,000 flights over the past 12 months, equal to all air traffic handled in 1998, according to the Irish Aviation Authority. The pandemic has led to far fewer planes in Irish skies. Mentally, for me, going out and working, even for a minimum wage, is a better option than sitting around doing nothing.”Īer Lingus first officer Alice Farrell. “I never saw myself as someone that would end up like this. It is not where I saw myself heading into my 30s,” she says. Having become specialised in one particular industry, I am now back in a pool competing for jobs with college leavers who are 22 and 23 years old. When she recently sought another job – to pick up extra work and to keep herself busy while she awaits a standby call to fly – the supermarket manager was flummoxed as to why an airline pilot wanted a low-paid job in retail. Having become specialised in one particular industry, I am now back in a pool competing for jobs with college leavers who are 22 and 23 years old She is among hundreds of Irish pilots grounded by travel restrictions who have no idea when or even if the industry will return to pre-pandemic normality. Both trips were valuable flying time for the Dubliner.įarrell, who is 28 and from Rathfarnham, is one of the many casualties of an industry devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Farrell says she has never been happier to secure a day’s work on both occasions. There were just 15 passengers on the January 1st flight to the US and none on this month’s flights the plane was transporting a cargo of car parts.
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