Since The Ditch first reported on the transport of Israel-bound weapons through Irish airspace, opposition leaders have asked for answers from government, with coalition leaders saying some level of investigation is to be conducted. Here's what we know and how we know it.
Q. What has The Ditch reported about the transport of weapons through Irish airspace ?
The Ditch has reported on documentary evidence that munitions (weaponry) were delivered from the USA to Israel on at least six Challenge Airlines flights through Irish sovereign airspace from October 2023 to February 2024.
Q. What’s the significance of this discovery?
The taoiseach in June and tánaiste in April said in the Dáil that no munitions were being delivered to Israel through Irish sovereign airspace.
Simon Harris said, “No airport in Ireland or Irish sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East." Micheál Martin said, “No airport in Ireland or Irish sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East or any other war. People should stop trying to muddy the waters in that respect, which is what is going on.”
Both said the Department of Transport had neither granted nor received applications for clearance to carry munitions to Israel through Irish airspace in 2023 or 2024.
Transport minister Eamon Ryan in May said in a post on X that Irish sovereign airspace was not being used to transport weapons “directly” to Israel.
Israel stands accused of committing genocide, having killed more than 40,000 Gazan civilians since October 2023.
Under the Genocide Convention, Ireland has a legal obligation to avoid complicity in genocide. Four of these munitions-carrying flights took place after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel in January to take steps to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza.
Q. What is Irish sovereign airspace?
By definition and international agreement, Irish sovereign airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by Ireland above its territory, including its territorial waters – i.e. 12 nautical miles, or 22.22 kilometres from the coastline.
Q. Did these flights fly over Ireland’s land or just its waters?
All six of these flights flew over and across the breadth of Ireland
Q. Were these direct flights?
They were scheduled by Challenge Airlines as direct flights from New York JFK to Tel Aviv with short stopovers in Liège.
Q. What munitions were on the flights?
All the munitions were classed as dangerous goods. They included sniper ammunition, 93 million units of ammunition primer, tear gas, detonating fuzes and detonators for use in missiles.
Q. How much weaponry was transported on these six flights to Israel?
More than 56 tonnes.
Q. Who were the recipients of the weaponry?
The recipients included the Government of Israel and multiple Israel Defense Forces contractors.
Q. Did these flights require permission to fly over Irish sovereign airspace?
Yes. Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, munitions and/or dangerous goods cannot be transported on civilian aircraft through Irish sovereign airspace without an exemption from the Minister for Transport.
Q. What are munitions of war?
“Weapons and ammunition designed for use in warfare and includes parts of or for such weapons and ammunition”, according to Irish air navigation law.
Q. Is transportation of munitions through Irish sovereign airspace without an exemption a criminal offence?
It is a strict liability indictable criminal offence under Section 13 of the Irish Air Navigation and Transport Act 1946 (as amended by Section 28 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1988) and is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.
Q. Could these flights have had other munitions on board?
Yes. The records released by the Belgian authorities only concern explosive-containing munitions.
Q. Could the government have prevented this from happening?
Yes. State agencies can request access to air cargo manifests from law enforcement agencies in other countries. The Department of Transport could have audited high-risk flights that passed through Irish airspace through cooperation with other state authorities (in this case, the Belgian or US authorities).
Q. Can the state intercept flights entering Irish airspace?
Yes. Under the Air Navigation (Interception of Aircraft) Order 1990, Irish Defence Forces officers can intercept aircraft suspected of carrying munitions without authorisation and order them to exit Irish airspace. However it has been suggested that the Air Corps is not equipped to conduct such interceptions.
Q. Will the government do anything to prevent this from happening again?
The taoiseach and tánaiste have said the matter is being “examined” by the Department of Transport and that it is “engaging” with the airline. No further commitments have been made.
Q. How can The Ditch be sure that the flight data is accurate?
The flight data is sourced from a reputable flight tracking service that uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). We have also verified the flight paths taken (as opposed to planned) for these flights with another source.
Q. Where did The Ditch source the information?
The Belgian Ministry of the Economy released the records in April this year to Antwerp-based NGO Vredesactie under access to information on the environment laws.
Q. What do the records contain?
All applications submitted by Challenge Airlines for permission from the Belgian authorities to transport dangerous goods through Liège Airport from 7 October 2023 to 4 March 2024. Individual applications for permission were accompanied by invoices and packing lists, including a description of the weaponry being transported.
Q. How did The Ditch verify the weaponry was transported on flights over Ireland?
Each consignment of munitions is accompanied by an air waybill (a document that accompanies goods shipped on international flights) and is assigned a unique reference number for tracking.
The flight date specified on an AWB is insufficient evidence of transport on a particular date (because paperwork-related delays often mean the goods are transported on a later flight). Challenge Airlines' website however has a track-and-trace search function similar to FedEx or DHL. Each AWB reference number was verified on the track and trace system. The details provided on the track and trace system included the flight numbers, flight date, route and kilogramme weight of individual consignments.
