Published Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. (© Getty)
The Irish authorities gave an assurance of the rigorous oversight of Ryanair's operations and of their satisfaction with safety standards, which they said were on a par with the safest airlines in Europe.
It comes as the IAA and its Spanish counterpart AESA agreed to jointly examine the circumstances surrounding a specific incident at a Madrid airport on Sunday.
A Ryanair flight with 159 passengers on board experienced technical difficulties while travelling between Paris and Tenerife, landing at Madrid's Barajas airport.
The airline apologised to its passengers, who were delayed for two hours.
We welcome today's joint statement from the Irish and Spanish Governments, which affirms that Ryanair's safety standards are on a par with the safest airlines in Europe.
Stephen McNamara
Previous incidents have included two recent landings due to low fuel and one incident where a sudden drop in cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to descend and the flight had to turn around.
A statement issued by the Irish Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Spanish Ministry of Development on Tuesday said the two countries would work closely together.
"There is already good cooperation between the IAA and its Spanish counterpart AESA and it was agreed that the two organisations will develop a Memorandum of Understanding on increased cooperation," the statement said.
"The Directors General of Civil Aviation in the two jurisdictions will also meet regularly."
According to Ryanair, the airline had invited the Spanish Ministry to "send a team of inspectors to Dublin to correct any (misplaced) concerns about Ryanair's compliance with Europe's highest operating and maintenance standards".
The airline added that it had provided them with "unfettered access to Ryanair operating, maintenance and flight training facilities and unlimited access to Ryanair's safety, flight management, engineering and maintenance personnel".