Normal service resumes at airport

Normal service has resumed at the airport

Staff levels at Dublin Airport are back to normal and there are no significant delays to flights, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has said.

More than 1,000 passengers had been expected to face delays.

The IAA said services stopped due to an ongoing dispute on staffing levels between air traffic controllers and the aviation authority.

Nine flights into and out of the airport were affected between 2330 GMT on Saturday and 0630 GMT on Sunday.

Earlier, Ryanair's chief executive, Michael O'Leary, claimed up to 1,000 of his airline's passengers would be affected as a result of the action.

The last Ryanair flights in from Faro and Malaga were expected to be delayed nine or 10 hours because the planes would be unable to land at Dublin.

He said that passengers travelling on those flights would be "stranded abroad overnight".

The IAA said the latest disruption at Dublin Airport was because it could not get anyone to fill in for an air traffic controller who called in sick.

Impact, the union that represents the air traffic controllers, said recent closures in Dublin, Cork and Shannon in the last week "have highlighted that the air traffic control system is understaffed and excessively reliant on overtime as a result".

Air traffic controllers voted overwhelmingly for strike action last week.

Talks aimed at resolving the dispute are to resume at the Labour Relations Commission on Tuesday.