As guardian to much of western Europe’s technology infrastructure, the responsibilities Ireland faces in a digital economy are ever increasing. Recent incursions by Russian communications and reconnaissance aircraft into the North Atlantic have shown that the country is not sufficiently prepared to deal with this threat. At the same time, Shannon Airport’s importance as a passenger gateway has been declining ever since the 1960s. An opportunity now exists to leverage the airport’s geographic location once again and bring Ireland’s defence capabilities into the modern era.

While we watch webinars, read industry forecasts and attempt to predict what might happen when the aviation industry gets back on its feet, the truth is no one really knows. Predictions now are unlikely to be able to account for the most significant variable of them all – our own behaviour.

When it comes to runway rehabilitation projects, we are perennially seeking the answer to economise, or otherwise value engineer our solution. In the realm of the whole-life cost analysis, the question that needs to be raised sooner or later is 'when will we no longer need a runway?'

In the years since the arrival of the 747 into commercial passenger service in 1970, long-haul air travel has evolved from being a privilege of the wealthy to a price point less than that of your annual car service. The "Jumbo Jet" became synonymous with mass air travel and affordability and to this day is seen as a symbol of international connectivity. But times have changed and so have the aircraft of choice.