ONE flight involving a foreign businessman, understood to be a member of the ruling family of Brunei, is believed to be at the centre of a dispute which threatens to close Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports from next Wednesday.
Aer Rianta confirmed last night that only one flight by a private jet was involved in the dispute. It is understood details of the flight and the identity of the businessman are not being released for security reasons. He is interested in investing substantial funds in the Irish property market.
Meanwhile, informal contacts are expected to continue between union and management over the weekend to resolve the dispute, but this is thought unlikely before the two sides meet again at the Labour Relations Commission on Monday This will leave less than 48 hours to avert a strike.
SIPTU and management had informal contacts with each other and the LRC yesterday afternoon. However, optimism about an early breakthrough faded as the meeting progressed.
Tomorrow, formal talks will take place in Shannon on a local dispute that also relates to security issues. If that is resolved it could provide the impetus needed to reach a speedy resolution of the main dispute, which centres on what SIPTU members see as the creeping privatisation of security and policing duties at Irish airports.
The group at the centre of the row is Air Defence International (ADI), which is licensed by the Federal Aviation Authority to carry out air security work on US carriers and is also licensed to operate in Ireland.
ADI personnel normally provide security cover within US aircraft and in the immediate, vicinity of the aircraft when it is on the apron, particularly to protect cargo and luggage compartments. The current problem has arisen because the owner of the private jet has a worldwide agreement with ADI to provide him with security.
There has been growing concern among the Airport Police and Fire Service (APFS) over the implications for their own long term role and employment at Irish airports if private security firms arc allowed to effectively replace them. That is why they voted so overwhelmingly for all out strike action if Wednesday's flight proceeds.
Aer Rianta says there is a threat to jobs and a spokesman said last night that the company is "reasonably hopeful that an acceptable formula can be worked out". He said ADI has a licence to operate at the airport and "another complication is that aircraft security is up to the client, secure the airport."
The SIPTU regional secretary for the commercial semi state sector, Mr Jack Nash, who has taken over negotiations on behalf of its 400 members in the APFS, declined to comment on the flight which, he said, was a matter for Aer Rianta.
Referring to the course of the negotiations to resolve the dispute he said: "We've had 14 hours of exhaustive and extensive meetings in the past 24 hours. The LRC invited us in to explore, options on Thursday and they are still being explored at present.
"All we can say at this stage is that as a result of informal discussions today with the LRC, there may be proposals emanating on Monday.
Security procedures at Dublin Airport were first introduced in 1963 after the visit by the former US president, John F. Kennedy, when the American Secret Service effectively took over the establishment. The AFPS is responsible for overall security at the airport.
There is no obligation on airlines to use the AFPS and there is no charge for the service. Nor is there anything to prevent airlines from using ADI or some other private firm in conjunction with the AFPS. The problem has arisen in this case because ADI will effectively take over all procedures.
The dispute comes at a time when both Aer Rianta and SIPTU, which represents company staff, are having to come to terms with increasingly complex regulations governing international aviation safety and new EU competition rules which require some low level security services to be opened to tender.
SIPTU has been calling on the company to develop a proactive strategy to develop and market its services in order to protect and hopefully increase employment.
The task facing the LRC on Monday will be to try and find a short term solution to Wednesday's problem and also produce a longer term framework plan to address union concerns about the future role of the AFPS.