Popular aviation influencer Shaun Dunne lifts lid on his new role after landing Dublin Airport gig – as he reveals details of next move in his highly ambitious plan…

Nineteen-year-old Shaun Dunne, the Irish teenager behind the popular social media page Shaun's Aviation, has landed a job as a passenger service agent at Dublin Airport, moving from watching planes outside the perimeter fence to working inside Terminal 2. He attended a job interview on the evening of his final Leaving Certificate exam and began training the following Monday, taking a concrete step towards his ultimate goal of becoming a commercial pilot. The move highlights how a teenage hobby, born from listening to radio scanners, has grown into a well-followed aviation news source while also opening a practical route towards his career ambitions.

Shaun's Aviation has amassed almost 32,000 followers over nearly three years, providing travellers with independent updates, particularly valued during periods of flight disruption. His new airport role, which currently involves working check-in desks before he progresses to boarding and announcements once his security clearance comes through, is also a way to save towards the high cost of pilot training, which can run to tens of thousands of euro without a cadetship. He is careful to separate his job from his online presence, avoiding naming airlines or his employer and sticking to publicly available information, though he says colleagues and passengers alike often recognise him. He insists the social media page will remain a hobby rather than a career.