THE IRISH AVIATION Authority (IAA) has waived all landing charges and aeronautical fees for Santa Claus ahead of his arrival in Ireland tonight, the Minister for Transport has confirmed.

The government has been making all efforts to facilitate the man in red ahead of his arrival tonight though mystery surrounds just what time he’ll reach our shores.

Minister for Time Alan Shatter yesterday confirmed that Santa will not face any excess baggage charges when he lands in Ireland later with other preparations in terms of visas also made.

An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and Met Éireann have all been mobilised as part of the massive operation, which involves months of planning, to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch.

As part of this, Varadkar confirmed this morning that landing charges and aeronautical fees have been waived by the IAA to ensure the big man has no trouble with his reindeer, sled and presents.

In a tweet this morning, Varadkar confirmed:

A senior elf, who declined to named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told TheJournal.ie that Santa is expected to reach Ireland late tonight, but would not give a specific time due to operational and security concerns.

“If we give out the time he’ll hit Ireland the kids will be out of bed looking for a glimpse and that would raise all sorts of security issues,” the elf said.

They added that the current adverse weather conditions are not expected to hamper Santa’s delivery of presents.

Read: Minister for Time confirms Ireland is prepared for Santa’s arrival