Donal Handley

Head of Government Affairs, AerCap

Donal Handley has worked in the aviation industry for over 22 years and has an extensive experience in airline economics, decarbonisation, aviation policy, traffic forecasting, stakeholder relations and the air finance and leasing sector. He joined AerCap as Head of Government Affairs in 2022. Based in Brussels, Donal engages with all parts of the aviation value chain, including European and global policy makers as well as aviation stakeholders. 

Prior to joining AerCap, Donal was Chief of Staff EUROCONTROL, where he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the Director General's mandate. Donal also oversaw the activities of EUROCONTROL's Aviation Intelligence Committee and the Agency Management Board. He held various positions with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) between 2004 and 2017, including the position of Head of Corporate Affairs (from 2012-17). Prior to joining the IAA, he was a Senior Economic Analyst with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), based in London. Prior to IATA, he worked for Aer Lingus as an Economic Analyst in Dublin.

He has an honours Masters Degree (M.Econ.Sc) in European Economic & Public Affairs from University College Dublin, as well as an honours Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.) from University College Dublin.