Dublin Airport Authority chairman Basil Geoghegan has sought to rebut criticism over the cancellation of dozens of flights into and from the hub in recent days.
“Notwithstanding current sub-zero temperatures, Dublin Airport’s winter readiness plans meant that all runways and taxiways at Dublin Airport have remained open and fully operational throughout", he said, attributing cancellations to "difficulties encountered by individual airlines de-icing their own aircraft or airports being closed in the UK".
The airport was faulted by parliamentarians for allegedly failing to prepare for cold weather, while Ireland's transport minister Eamon Ryan was accused by the opposition leader, Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald, of being "asleep at the wheel".
Ryan, the leader of the Green Party and an advocate of hefty emissions cuts and of cycling as a preferred mode of transport, appeared to fall asleep during a parliament session in mid-2020, going by video footage from the chamber.