The director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that Ireland “risks losing connectivity that may not return” if the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is not scrapped, reports RTE.
Willie Walsh, a former chief executive of Aer Lingus, British Airways and International Airlines Group, described the limit as “outdated”, reports RTE.
He stated that when capacity at Dublin Airport is restricted, “Ireland’s international connectivity, competitiveness and economic growth are constrained with it”.
Mr Walsh told members of the Transport Committee that the long-standing passenger cap “now poses a real and immediate risk”, reports RTE.
“It restricts route development, limits consumer choice and undermines Ireland’s attractiveness for investment and tourism,” he stated.
“Uncertainty around capacity means airlines are already evaluating alternative airports for growth, and to be clear, those airports are not in Ireland”, he added, reports RTE.
He maintained that the proposed legislation is “both necessary and urgent”.
“It replaces an outdated planning condition with a modern, transparent mechanism that enables the Minister to act when the cap is causing economic or connectivity harm,” Mr Walsh said, reports RTE.
“That harm is happening today and will continue to impact Ireland’s competitiveness, if not resolved quickly,” he warned.
The IATA chief stressed that timing is crucial in removing the “current uncertainty” caused by the passenger cap, reports RTE.
“Airlines have already begun planning for Summer 2027. They will make decisions this September, with Dublin Airport’s capacity declaration due by 1 October. If certainty is not restored before then airlines will be forced to plan on the assumption that the cap remains,” he said.
“Once capacity assumptions are embedded through the capacity declaration and slot allocation processes, they become difficult, if not impossible, to unwind. And once airlines aircraft crews and schedules are allocated to other routes, decisions are unlikely to be reversed. Ireland risks losing connectivity that may not return,” he explained, reports RTE.
Willie Walsh said that a “swift enactment and commencement” of the legislation is vital to safeguard Ireland’s connectivity and economic strength.
“IATA strongly supports urgent passage of this legislation. The risks of delay are significant and avoidable,” he stated, reports RTE.
The association noted that it represents more than 360 airlines, accounting for roughly 85% of global air traffic and most carriers operating at Dublin Airport.
A4A warns of retaliation if Dublin Airport passenger cap not lifted, reports RTE.
Meanwhile, a trade organisation representing US airlines has cautioned that “retaliation can be expected” if the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is not permanently removed.
The president and chief executive of Airlines for America, Chris Sununu, reiterated his call for the restriction to be “removed immediately”, reports RTE.
He told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that the passenger cap is “no longer a planning constraint but a policy decision that if left in place, would be an economic disaster for the citizens of Ireland”.
Airlines for America represents both passenger and cargo airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada, as well as FedEx and UPS, reports RTE.
In his remarks to TDs and Senators at Leinster House, the organisation’s CEO argued that the passenger cap breaches the EU-US Open Skies Agreement and negatively affects Ireland’s economy.
“Enforcing the passenger cap would cost the Irish economy somewhere between $6 and $10 billion in lost direct economic activity. That equates to more than half of your tourism spending here in Ireland,” he said, reports RTE.
“This isn’t about just stopping flights at the airport. The cap stands to stop the growth of your economy”, he added.
Mr Sununu said the issue raises “a fundamental issue” regarding Ireland’s international obligations, reports RTE.
“Under the US EU Open Skies Agreement, both sides committed to a framework that allows airlines to compete freely without arbitrary limits on capacity. The passenger cap as currently applied violates that commitment. It was not designed and should not be applied as an aviation tool,” he stated.
He warned that “whenever there is a disparate treatment of that partnership, then retaliation and rebalancing can be expected”, reports RTE.
“Airlines are making decisions now where to deploy aircraft, open routes, invest over the next several years. Those decisions depend on confidence in that market access. Where that confidence is lacking, aircrafts move, capital moves, growth moves and those decisions are not easily reversed. This is why the timing matters,” he stated.
The A4A chief said the temporary pause on the restriction does not resolve the issue “with any sort of certainty”, reports RTE.
“Only your legislative action can do that”, he added.
Chris Sununu said he recently held meetings at the White House and the US Department of Transportation in Washington regarding the matter, reports RTE.
“I’m not here to speak on the government’s behalf, but we can be clear about how these situations are viewed. When market access for US carriers appears constrained in ways that conflict with international agreements, it triggers a response,” he said.
“With all the craziness we have going on in the United States with aviation, right here today this currently is our priority, and this is where folks are watching,” he stated, reports RTE.
He claimed that failing to act swiftly to remove the cap “introduces risk, not only for US carriers operating in Ireland, but for Irish carriers access to the United States, routes, frequencies, future growth all dependent on policy decisions made here,” he added, reports RTE.
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