1.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1965” means the Extradition Act, 1965;

“aircraft” includes any aircraft other than state aircraft;

“appropriate authority” means, in relation to an aircraft, the authority in charge of the particular airport at which the aircraft lands or intends to land;

“commander”, in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the crew who is designated as commander by the operator or, if there is no such designation, the pilot in command of the aircraft;

“Hague contracting state” means a state in which the Hague Convention is for the time being in force;

“the Hague Convention” means the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft done at The Hague on the 16th day of December, 1970, of which the text is set out in the Second Schedule to this Act;

“Irish controlled aircraft” means an aircraft—

(a) which is for the time being registered in the State, or

(b) which is not for the time being registered in the State but which satisfies for the time being the requirements for such registration specified in Article 7 of the Air Navigation (Nationality and Registration of Aircraft) Order, 1963, or

(c) which—

(i) is registered in another state,

(ii) is for the time being chartered by demise, let or on hire, and

(iii) could but for paragraph (2) of the said Article 7 be registered in the State under paragraph (3) of that Article;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Transport and Power;

“operator”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who for the time being has the management of the aircraft;

“pilot in command”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who for the time being is lawfully in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft;

“state aircraft” means aircraft of any state used in the military, customs or police services of that state;

“Tokyo contracting state” means a state in which the Tokyo Convention is for the time being in force;

“the Tokyo Convention” means the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft done at Tokyo on the 14th day of September, 1963, of which the text is set out in the First Schedule to this Act.

(2) The period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include—

(a) for the purposes of this Act, any period from the moment when power is applied for the purpose of take-off until the moment of take-off and any period from the moment of touchdown until the moment when the landing run (if any) ends, and

(b) for the purposes of sections 3, 5, 7 and 11 of this Act—

(i) any further periods from the moment when all external doors of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the moment when any such doors are opened for disembarkation after that flight, and

(ii) if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any period thereafter until the time when the competent authorities of the state in which the forced landing takes place assume responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board the aircraft (being, in the case of a forced landing which takes place in the State, the time when a member of the Garda Síochána arrives at the place of landing),

and any reference in this Act to an aircraft in flight shall include a reference to an aircraft during the period when it is on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any state.

(3) A certificate under the seal of the Minister that, at a time or during a period specified in the certificate, any state specified in the certificate is or, as the case may be, is not a Tokyo contracting state or is or, as the case may be, is not a Hague contracting state or is both or, as the case may be, is neither shall be evidence until the contrary is shown of the fact so stated.

(4) Where a notice communicated to the State under Article 18 of the Tokyo Convention or Article 5 of the Hague Convention states that any two or more states each of which is either a Tokyo contracting state or a Hague contracting state—

(a) have established a joint air transport operating organisation, or international operating agency, which operates aircraft which are subject to joint or international registration, and

(b) have designated for each aircraft so operated the state among them which shall be the state of registration for the purposes of the Tokyo Convention or the Hague Convention, or both, the Minister—

(i) may by order declare that the aircraft aforesaid (which together with the states referred to in the notice, shall be specified in the order) shall be treated for the purposes of this Act and of the Tokyo Convention and the Hague Convention or either of those Conventions as being registered in the state designated as aforesaid (which shall be specified in the order), and

(ii) may by order amend or revoke any order under this subsection.

(5) References in this Act to the state of registration of an aircraft in the case of an aircraft—

(a) which is for the time being registered in the State, or

(b) which is not for the time being so registered but which satisfies the requirements for registration in the State specified in the said Article 7,

are references to the State.

2.—(1) Any act or omission which, if taking place in the State, would constitute an offence under the law of the State, shall, if it takes place on board an Irish controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over the State, constitute that offence.

(2) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or an offence referred to in subsection (1) of this section may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the State.

2A.—(1) A person on board an aircraft in flight who is intoxicated to such extent as to give rise to a reasonable apprehension that he or she is likely to endanger the safety of himself or herself or the safety of others on board the aircraft shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person on board an aircraft in flight who, without justification, engages in behaviour that is likely to cause serious offence or annoyance to any person on board the aircraft, at any time after having been requested by a member of the crew of the aircraft to cease such behaviour, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person on board an aircraft in flight who engages in behaviour of a threatening, abusive or insulting nature whether by word or gesture with intent to cause a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might be occasioned shall be guilty of an offence.

F2[(3A) Where an aircraft lands, on the territory of the State and a member of the Garda Síochána has reason to believe that there is on board the aircraft a person who has committed an offence under this section, the member, together with any other members of the Garda Síochána, may, without warrant, enter the aircraft and may, without warrant, arrest any such person whom he or she finds on the aircraft.]

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall—

(a) in the case of an offence under subsection (1) or (2), be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F3[€3,000], or

(b) in the case of an offence under subsection (3), be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F3[€3,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 months, or to both.]

3.—(1) If the commander of an aircraft registered in a Tokyo contracting state has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed, or is about to commit, on board the aircraft in flight anywhere any act which—

(a) if committed in the state in which the aircraft is registered would constitute an offence under the law in force in that state, or

(b) jeopardises or may jeopardise—

(i) the safety of the aircraft,

(ii) the safety of persons or property on board the aircraft, or

(iii) good order or discipline on board the aircraft,

the commander may take, with respect to the person, such reasonable measures, including restraint of his person, as he reasonably considers to be necessary—

(i) to protect the safety of the aircraft, or of persons or property on board the aircraft,

(ii) to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft, or

(iii) to enable the commander to disembark the person or to deliver him to a member of the Garda Síochána in the State or to competent authorities outside the State, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the commander of an aircraft may—

(a) order or authorise the assistance of any other member of the crew of the aircraft, or

(b) request or authorise the assistance of any other person on board the aircraft.

(3) Any member of the crew of an aircraft which is in flight, or any other person on board, may, without being ordered, authorised or requested by the commander of the aircraft take, with respect to any other person on board the aircraft, any reasonable measures which he has reasonable grounds for believing to be immediately necessary to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property therein.

(4) Any restraint imposed on a person on board an aircraft under this section shall not be continued after the time when the aircraft first ceases to be in flight and the person is handed over to a member of the Garda Síochána in the State or to competent authorities outside the State, as the case may be, unless—

(a) the place where the aircraft first ceases to be in flight is in the territory of a state which is not a Tokyo contracting state and which refuses to permit that person to be disembarked,

(b) the measures of restraint were imposed in order to enable the person to be delivered to competent authorities in the state of registration of the aircraft (being, in the case of the State, a member of the Garda Síochána),

(c) the aircraft has made a forced landing and the commander is unable to deliver the person to competent authorities (being, in the case of a forced landing in the State, a member of the Garda Síochána), or

(d) the person under restraint agrees to continue his journey under restraint on board that aircraft.

4.—(1) The commander of an aircraft shall, if possible before, and in any event as soon as practicable after, the termination of its flight in the State with a person on board the aircraft who has been placed under restraint pursuant to section 3 of this Act, notify the appropriate authority—

(a) that such person is under restraint,

(b) of the reasons for such restraint.

(2) The commander of an Irish controlled aircraft shall, if possible before, and in any event as soon as practicable after, the termination of its flight in the territory of any other state with a person on board the aircraft who has been placed under restraint pursuant to section 3 of this Act, notify the appropriate authority—

(a) that such person is under restraint, and

(b) of the reasons for such restraint.

5.—(1) If the commander of an aircraft other than an Irish controlled aircraft registered in a Tokyo contracting state has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed or is about to commit on board the aircraft in flight anywhere any act which, whether it is an offence or not, jeopardises or may jeopardise—

(i) the safety of the aircraft,

(ii) the safety of persons or property on board the aircraft, or

(iii) good order and discipline on board the aircraft,

the commander may, in order to protect the safety of the aircraft or persons or property therein, or to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft, disembark the person in the territory of the State.

(2) If the commander of an Irish controlled aircraft has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed or is about to commit on board the aircraft in flight anywhere any act which, whether it is an offence or not, jeopardises or may jeopardise—

(i) the safety of the aircraft,

(ii) the safety of persons or property on board the aircraft, or

(iii) good order and discipline on board the aircraft,

the commander may, in order to protect the safety of the aircraft or persons or property therein, or to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft, disembark the person in the territory of any state.

6.—The commander of an aircraft shall, as soon as may be after he has disembarked a person pursuant to section 5 of this Act, notify the appropriate authority—

(a) that he has disembarked such person, and

(b) of the reasons for such disembarkation.

7.—(1) If the commander of an aircraft registered in a Tokyo contracting state has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed on board the aircraft in flight anywhere an act which, in his opinion, is a serious offence under the criminal law of the state of registration of the aircraft, the commander may, if the flight of the aircraft terminates in the State, deliver the person to a member of the Garda Síochána as soon as may be after such termination.

(2) If the commander of an Irish controlled aircraft has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed on board the aircraft in flight anywhere an act which, in his opinion, is a serious offence under the criminal law of the State, the commander may, if the flight of the aircraft terminates outside the State in the territory of a Tokyo contracting state deliver the person to competent authorities of that state as soon as may be after such termination.

8.—(1) The commander of an aircraft shall, if possible before, and in any event as soon as practicable after, the termination of its flight in the State with a person on board whom he intends to deliver to a member of the Garda Síochána pursuant to section 7 (1) of this Act, notify the appropriate authority of—

(a) his intention to deliver the person as aforesaid, and

(b) the reasons for such delivery.

(2) The commander of an Irish controlled aircraft shall, if possible before, and in any event as soon as practicable after the termination of its flight in the territory of a Tokyo contracting state with a person on board whom he intends to deliver to competent authorities of that state pursuant to section 7 (2) of this Act, notify the appropriate authority of—

(a) his intention to deliver the person as aforesaid, and

(b) the reasons for such delivery.

9.—The commander of an aircraft shall furnish to the person to whom any person is delivered pursuant to section 7 of this Act all evidence and information in respect of the act to which the delivery of the person pursuant to that section refers lawfully in his possession according to the law of the state of registration of the aircraft.

10.—The commander of an aircraft, a member of the crew of an aircraft, a passenger on an aircraft, the owner or operator of an aircraft or any person on whose behalf a flight was performed shall not be liable in the State—

(a) to conviction in any criminal prosecution, or

(b) in damages in any civil action,

brought in respect of any action taken against any person pursuant to a provision of this Act.

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person who on board an aircraft in flight anywhere—

(a) unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seizes or exercises control of or otherwise interferes with the control of that aircraft, or

(b) attempts to perform any such act or aids or abets a person who performs or attempts to perform any such act or counsels or procures the performance of any such act

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person who on board an aircraft in flight anywhere commits an act to which this subsection applies shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) In this subsection “act to which this subsection applies” means an act of violence which is committed, in connection with an act constituting an offence under subsection (1) of this section, against the passengers or crew of the aircraft concerned and which, if it were committed within the State, would constitute an indictable offence.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not apply in relation to

(a) an act committed on board an aircraft whose place of takeoff and place of actual landing are both situated in the territory of the state of registration of the aircraft, or

(b) an act committed on board an aircraft whose state of registration is a state designated in an order made pursuant to a notice communicated to the State under Article 5 of the Hague Convention and for the time being in force under section 1 of this Act and whose place of take-off and place of actual landing are both situated in the territory of the same state, being a state specified in the said order.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall apply in relation to an act committed on an aircraft, including a state aircraft, if—

(a) the act is committed by a person who is a citizen of Ireland or is habitually resident in the State, or

(b) the act is committed in or over the State, or

(c) the aircraft is an Irish controlled aircraft.

(5) Where an aircraft lands after a flight on the territory of the State and a member of the Garda Síochána has reason to believe that there is on board the aircraft a person who has committed an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section on the flight, the member together with any other members of the Garda Síochána may, without warrant, enter the aircraft and may, without warrant, arrest any such person whom he finds on the aircraft.

(6) If a person arrested under subsection (5) of this section is not a citizen of Ireland or habitually resident in the State, the person—

(a) shall, if he is an alien who could, under the law relating to aliens, have been refused leave to land in the State, be deemed, for the purposes of that law to be an alien who has been refused that leave, and

(b) may be detained in custody for a period not exceeding 48 hours and then, subject to section 12 of this Act, released:

Provided however that he shall not be released under this section if before the expiration of the period of 48 hours he has been charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section.

12.—Any person arrested under section 11 of this Act or delivered to a member of the Garda Síochána under section 7 (1) of this Act shall, in addition—

(a) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a state to which Part II of the Act of 1965 applies and (if he is a citizen of Ireland) the extradition of the person is not prohibited by section 14 of that Act, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 27 of that Act, and

(b) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a place to which Part III of that Act applies, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 49 of that Act,

and section 15 of the Act of 1965 shall not apply in relation to the extradition of a person to whom this section applies.

13.—No provision of this Act shall be interpreted as authorising or requiring the commander of an aircraft or any other person therein to take any action in respect of an offence punishable under laws of a political nature or in respect of an offence based on racial or religious discrimination, unless the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft is endangered by reason of such offences.

14.—Where a person who is an alien who could, under the law relating to aliens, be refused leave to land in the State is in the State by reason solely of having been—

(a) disembarked from an aircraft pursuant to section 5 of this Act, or

(b) delivered to the Garda Síochána pursuant to section 7 of this Act, or

(c) arrested pursuant to section 11 of this Act,

the person shall, for the purposes of that law, be deemed not to have landed in the State.

15.—A commander of an aircraft who contravenes section 4, 6, 8 or 9 of this Act shall be guilty of an offence F4[…].

16.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under section 11 of this Act shall be liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life or for such other term as the court considers proper.

(2) A court shall not suspend a sentence imposed under this section.

(3) Section 1 (2) of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, shall not apply in relation to an offence under section 11 of this Act.

17.—Section 10 of the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Act, 1963 (which relates to the keeping of records of the movements of aircraft and to the use of such records as evidence) shall have effect as if the reference in subsection (1) (c) to an offence included a reference to an offence under this Act.

18.—The expenses incurred by any Minister of State in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

19.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1973.

(2) This Act and the Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1965, may be cited together as the Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1973.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.