Sir, – I found Justine McCarthy’s recent article, “Dublin Airport will reach breaking point. It is time to revisit the case for Baldonnel” (Opinion, February 13th) disturbing and disheartening.
The comparisons used to justify a second airport near Dublin are misleading. Torp, described as Oslo’s “second” airport, is about 110km from the city centre, comparable to the distance from Athlone to Dublin, and serves only about two million passengers annually. Bromma, Stockholm’s “second” airport, faces an uncertain future as a commercial facility. Moreover, Norway and Sweden, particularly Norway, have extensive domestic flight networks (due to geography), making comparisons with Ireland questionable.
More troubling, however, is how this commentary, and others like it, reinforce the Government narrative that air travel can continue expanding indefinitely without serious reflection on the consequences.
The public would be better served by greater attention to the catastrophic environmental and public health impacts of aviation rather than continued advocacy for unlimited expansion.
RM Block
The article includes a reference to Icarus. We are indeed flying too close to the sun, driven by Government policy and uncritical media coverage. – Yours, etc,
Dr OLA LØKKEN NORDRUM,
Beggars Bush,
Dublin 4.
