Dublin Airport will get a planning waiver for a Covid-19 testing centre for departing passengers.
This would be a crucial step in facilitating the widespread return of air travel.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan will confirm that Dublin Airport can get a planning law exemption to open the Covid-19 testing centre without permission from its local authority Fingal County Council, according to The Irish Times.
Mr Ryan is set to sign a ministerial order for the planning exemption.
Cork and Shannon Airports are planning similar facilities with both airports set to open drive-in test centres on Thursday.
Dalton Philips, chief executive of State company DAA, responsible for Dublin and Cork airports, recently said that Dublin Airport could have a testing centre open "in days" if it was granted a planning waiver.
Planning permission
He warned that seeking planning permission in the usual manner could take months.
The Government has announced a €48.1 million package to help the aviation sector recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This brings the total supports pledged to airports for next year to €79.4 million.
A Covid testing centre at Dublin Airport would be another significant boost to air travel after the Government announced a a new range of measures under the EU traffic light system.
Under the system there will be green regions, orange regions, red regions and grey regions across the EU.
This map will be updated every Thursday based on EU epidemiological data and the changes will be applied in Ireland the following Monday.
People arriving from "green" regions with fewer than 25 Covid infections per 100,000 people in the last 14 days do not need to restrict their movements.
Neither do those travelling from "orange" areas if they produce a negative test taken in the previous three days.
"Red" regions – those with infection rates of 50 or more per 100,000 and positive tests of 4 per cent – must restrict their movement for a minimum of five days before they can take a test that, if returned negative, ends their quarantine, the Government said.
