In order to contest an Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) decision to cap the number of passengers at Dublin Airport for the next winter season, Ryanair and Aer Lingus have officially obtained authorisation from the High Court to file legal challenges, reports Breaking News.
The IAA said in May of last year that Dublin Airport will be subject to a Passenger Air Traffic Movement (PATM) seat cap of slightly more than 14.4 million passengers between October 27, 2024, and March 29, 2025.
According to both airlines, the ruling should be overturned because it has legal flaws.
The airlines have challenged the IAA on several grounds, including that it behaved unreasonably and outside its authority in reaching its conclusion, reports Breaking News.
Additionally, it is alleged that the IAA violated the airlines’ property rights and other fundamental rights by failing to provide enough justification for its ruling.
In addition, daa, the airport operator, has filed a second lawsuit in High Court challenging the IAA’s ruling.
While all of the cases seek to have the IAA’s decision overturned, the airlines’ actions have been brought on different legal grounds than the daa’s, according to Martin Hayden SC for Ryanair and Paul Sreenan SC for Aer Lingus, when their cases were presented to the court on Monday, reports Breaking News.
According to Mr. Sreenan, the decision will make it more difficult for Aer Lingus to offer several winter services, like as flights to ski areas in France, Austria, and Switzerland, and flights that transport kids to Lapland around Christmas.
Mr. Hayden informed the court that Ryanair is concerned the ruling will negatively impact its operations, especially if comparable limitations are placed on the number of passengers allowed during the summer of 2025.
According to Counsel, Ryanair’s “best guesstimate” at this time is that the airport may lose some 5,600 slots, or 1.1 million seasons, as a result of another “artificial cap” on passenger volume.
According to the court, Ryanair can lose up to €89 million as a result of this that season, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
