*AirNav CEO Peter Kearney was among those to benefit from the €4.1m pay-out.
AIR traffic controllers based at Shannon and other staff tasked with keeping our skies safe, who sustained wage cuts during Covid-19, shared a €4.1 million once off compensation payout for the cuts last year.
That is according to the 2023 annual report for commercial semi-state agency, AirNav Ireland which shows AirNav Ireland CEO, Peter Kearney was one of those staff members to benefit from the €4.1 million pay-out where he received €19,340.
The report shows that pre-tax profits at AirNav Ireland increased by 71pc to €20.44 million as it benefited from the continued recovery of air travel.
AirNav Ireland provides air traffic management services in the 451,000 km2 of airspace controlled by Ireland and the airspace forms a crucial gateway for air traffic between Europe and North America.
Last year, AirNav Ireland was hived off from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) where the company acquired assets from the IAA with a value of €310.4 million.
AirNav Ireland employs air traffic controllers in Shannon, Cork and Dublin and radio officers in Ballygirreen, Co Clare to ensure the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic.
The agency’s 2023 annual report shows that revenues increased by 5.2 per cent to €194.5 million where ‘en route’ revenues accounted for €135.14 million or 69pc of overall revenues.
The annual report disclosed that AirNav Ireland at its April board on April 11th meeting declared a dividend of €4.5 million to the Government.
The accounts disclose that the once off payment of €4.1 million last year to staff affected by wage cuts brought overall staff costs to €100.19 million.
A note states that the pay was made after the IAA’s Industrial Disputes Resolution Board (IDRB) in May 2023 recommended that a payment should be made to staff who were the subject of a pay reduction, implemented as a cost containment measure in 2021 in response to COVID-19.
The note states that the payment was made in October 2023 and when employer’s PRSI is included, the cost of the payment was €4.5 million.
Wage and salary costs at AirNav Ireland last year totalled €73.69m and numbers employed increased from 595 to 626 that include 297 air traffic controllers.
The accounts show that the number of staff between May 1st and December 31st last earning over €175,000 was two with three earning between €150,000 and €175,000.
A further 23 earned between €125,000 and €150,000 with 107 earning between €100,000 and €125,000.
The accounts state that on 30 April 2023, Peter Kearney was appointed as CEO of AirNav Ireland on a salary of Mr Kearney is €225,000 per annum, he previously served as CEO of the IAA.
Last year, Mr Kearney’s total pay, including pension payments of €54,000 and the €19,340 once-off payment, amounted to €221,000.
Staff welfare and hospitality costs amounted to €300,000.
Chairman, Bryan Bourke stated that in 2023, air traffic exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and overall, air traffic grew by 14.3% in 2023 compared to 2022.
During the year, 368,700 overflights were managed in Irish-controlled airspace, an increase of 14.6% on 2022 levels while commercial air traffic at the State airports, Cork, Dublin and Shannon, taken together, increased by 15.7% to just under 275,000 movements.
Shareholder funds at AirNav Ireland totalled €324.03 million while cash funds totalled €42.89 million.
