Number of AirNav Ireland employees earning over €200k almost doubles

Gordon Deegan

The number of high-flyers at AirNav Ireland earning over €200,000 last year almost doubled to 50.

The 2025 annual report for the commercial semi-state agency specialising in air traffic management shows that 64 per cent of the 677-strong workforce earned over €100,000 in 2025.

In total, the numbers earning over €100,000 increased by 16 from 418 to 434 last year.

The figures show that 172 employees earned between €150,000 and €200,000, while the numbers earning over €200,000 increased from 28 to 50, which included three earning between €250,000 to €275,000.

Numbers employed by AirNav Ireland at six locations across Ireland during the year increased from 642 to 677.

Gerald Caffrey was appointed as chief executive on June 6th, 2025, and his salary is €225,000, which is the same salary as his predecessor, Dr Peter Kearney.

Wage and salary costs at AirNav Ireland last year increased by 12 per cent from €78.44 million to €87.96 million, which included allowances and other payments of €16.44 million.

Overall staff costs, taking into account pension contributions and social welfare costs, increased from €103.84 million to €106.9 million.

Pay to key management personnel last year remained at €2.5 million.

Despite the increase in staff costs, pre-tax profits at AirNav Ireland last year increased by 14 per cent to €14.64 million on the back of record levels of air traffic.

The agency recorded post-tax profits of €11.95 million after it incurred a corporation tax charge of €2.69 million.

Last year AirNav Ireland managed 708,000 flights in the Irish-managed controlled airspace, last year which was a 4.3 per cent increase on 2024.

AirNav Ireland also handled 294,000+ commercial terminal flights at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports, which was a 7.7 per cent increase on 2024.

The directors state that during the year, the company entered into a Collective Labour Agreement covering the period 2025 to 2029, providing for general, sectoral and other pay increases and enhanced workplace flexibility and modernisation initiatives, while supporting service continuity and industrial stability.

Pre-tax profits increased as revenues rose by 7 per cent from €196.79 million to €210.65 million.

The accounts disclose that on April 2nd of this year, AirNav Ireland paid out a dividend of €4.8 million.

This followed the High Court in March granting an order confirming a shareholder-approved share capital reduction, permitting a €310 million share premium reserve to be cancelled and treated as profits available for distribution.

The directors state that net cash generated from operations totalled €43.5 million compared to €21.8 million in 2024, “driven by higher profitability and improved working capital flows”.

Cash funds more than doubled from €33.6 million to €68.9 million in 2025.

The directors state that “traffic forecasts for 2026 and beyond are predicting further growth”.

In their report, the directors state that “financial performance in 2025 continued to strengthen”.

They state that the strong cash generation supported a significant capital investment programme of €34.1 million in 2025, while the Group maintained a robust balance sheet and liquidity position.

The report states en route revenue accounted for 71 per cent, or €150 million, of total revenue and en route revenue relates to overflights that, in the main, do not land in Ireland.