WATCH: Clare students celebrate as Ireland's newest air traffic controllers graduate

Three Clare-based students who completed their training in air traffic control, engineering, and radio operations, have graduated to join AirNav Ireland.  

The ceremony, at the Limerick Strand Hotel, saw eight students graduate as air traffic control officers, five as radio officers and five as air traffic safety engineers.

The Clare graduates include Ben Blessington from Ennis and Robert Lynch from Bunratty and Clare senior footballer player Gavan Murray graduated (watch video, above). 

Jack Chambers TD, Minister for State at the Department of Transport, attended the ceremony and commended the graduates on their achievements and wished them well in their careers in aviation.

The graduates will become part of AirNav Ireland, which provides air traffic management services in Irish airspace comprising of almost 500,000 square kilometers.

It also manages the safety of all flights arriving and departing to and from Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports.

Dr Peter Kearney, CEO of AirNav Ireland, said that they remain steadfast in its mission to continually invest in the development of its personnel, reinforcing its position as a leader in aviation safety and air traffic management.

“Today’s graduation is part of our strategic plan to invest in the best people to manage Irish aviation safety. We plan to train 240 suitable air traffic control candidates over the next decade while continuing our engineering programme to ensure the continued safe operation of critical infrastructure including our communications, navigation and surveillance systems.

“A new group of ATC students will start their training in early February in Shannon and we will shortly be advertising for suitable candidates for our Autumm programme,” he said.

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Air Traffic Controller Officers undergo intensive instruction to handle complex airspace scenarios, manage air traffic flow and ensure the seamless and safe movement of flights.

Radio officers training includes managing communication systems critical to air traffic control, fostering clear and concise dialogue between pilots and ground control.

Air Traffic Safety Engineers are trained to implement and maintain cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to support air traffic control systems, ensuring robustness, reliability, and resilience in the face of evolving challenges.

Details of all the training programmes are available HERE.