Sir, – The issues being experienced at Dublin Airport were entirely predictable, but that doesn’t equate to being entirely preventable. The process around hiring security staff, for example, involves a lengthy process of security clearance and subsequent training, a duration exceeding the notification period of the imminent lifting of the lockdown. And Dublin Airport is not unique in experiencing these difficulties, with many high-volume airports such as Manchester, Gatwick and Schiphol suffering similar problems. Not at all surprising given that nearly 200,000 European aviation workers were made redundant during the pandemic. Nor are the difficulties limited to this sector alone, with hospitality and catering in particular suffering severe staffing problems.
This is a post-pandemic issue, and one of the unforeseen elements of Covid itself has obviously been its debilitating impact on short-term memory, with many having apparently already forgotten of its very existence. Future medical studies will no doubt bear this out!
The financial crash of 2008 is an example of something that was entirely predictable and entirely preventable. Certain politicians should bear this in mind before taking cheap populist shots at an industry that is literally trying to get off the ground following years of almost complete shutdown. – Yours, etc,
B ROBINSON,
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Daingean,
Co Offaly.