Two more airlines – Germany’s national carrier and the US-based Delta Air Lines – have been illegally transporting munitions to Israel through Irish sovereign airspace.
Micheál Martin has said he’s open to banning airlines from Irish airspace if they’ve broken Irish law. “I think the basic action is saying to those airlines ‘you’re not allowed to fly through Irish airspace if you violate the basic rules,’” he said.
Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines have been transporting Lockheed Martin combat jet munitions to Israel over Ireland – with the most recent flight uncovered by The Ditch taking place this July. The munitions are parts for the F-35 jets the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) uses to bomb Gaza and more recently Lebanon.
Last week The Ditch reported that EL Al – Israel’s national carrier – illegally transported F-35 components over Ireland.
Carrying munitions of war – which include fighter jet parts – through Irish airspace without permission from the transport minister is a criminal offence punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. The Department of Transport recently said no such approvals to carry weapons destined for Israel have been granted since October 2023.
Used to drop bombs in Gaza and Lebanon
The Ditch has identified six Lufthansa cargo flights that carried critical components for the IDF’s F-35 combat jets through Irish sovereign airspace in April, May, June and July this year.
On each occasion the flights originated in Dallas, USA and landed in Frankfurt Airport before heading to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The munitions were later delivered, likely by road, to Nevatim air base in Beersheba.
Delta Airlines’ munition flights to Israel through Irish airspace have taken place as recently as this summer.
The USA’s oldest carrier transported Lockheed Martin and IMI Systems munitions to Israel over Ireland on at least four flights in September 2023 and June this year.
Since October 2023 the IDF has dropped 900-kilogramme US-made bombs on Gaza from F-35 combat jets, contributing to the death of more than 40,000 civilians. In recent days Israel has reportedly used Lockheed Martin-made F-35s in attacks on Beirut.
The IDF operates at least 39 American-made F-35s, which producer Lockheed Martin describes as “the most lethal fighter jet in the world”.
The Department of Transport has been contacted for comment.
