Aer Lingus is hiring 500 cabin crew and ground handling staff ahead of summer but says worsening delays with extra security background checks could hinder the process.
Airlines warn that delays with “enhanced” Garda security background checks required for all aviation workers since January 1st could hit holiday season hiring plans.
Lynn Embleton, Aer Lingus chief executive, said on Friday that delays had lengthened since the industry first highlighted the issue early this month.
The Irish carrier is hiring 500 workers between cabin crew and ground handlers in coming weeks as it prepares to boost operations for summer.
They need training before starting work, but cannot start this without special ID passes issued once An Garda Síochána has confirmed they have cleared both standard vetting, and new extra background checks introduced this year.
Ms Embleton noted that the enhanced checks were taking five weeks or more, and needed to be completed much faster than that. “It would be a travesty if we were unable to fly people to where they want to go,” she added.
Aer Lingus and Emerald Airlines raised the problem this month, saying it was posing a problem across the industry. It is understood that several airlines operating in the Republic, airports and other organisations have raised the issue with Government.
Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Transport, recently confirmed that he was aware of their fears and said he would raise it with the Department of Justice to see if a solution could be found.
An EU directive requiring the extra background checks, which became law this year, is central to the problem.
Deadlines
The Garda National Crime & Security Intelligence Service carries out these checks, which scrutinise job applicants' employment and education history, gaps in both, and anything else that the State believes is relevant.
Gardaí say they cannot set deadlines for these checks as each case is different. Many require them to contact police forces abroad as aviation staff often work in different countries through their careers.
The extra scrutiny of applicants' backgrounds is in addition to standard checks for criminal records or pending charges done by the Garda National Vetting Bureau. The force says it completes more than 70 per cent of these within days.
The Department of Transport has designated State airports company DAA as the central processing authority. It refers applications to An Garda Síochána.
The force itself has developed a special IT system through which the DAA submits applications to both the vetting unit and intelligence service for each stage of the process.
Industry sources estimate that aviation businesses could hire between 2,000 and 3,000 staff this year as air travel recovers following two years of Covid-19 restrictions.
