The transport minister, Eamon Ryan, has been urged by Ryanair to either remove the Dublin Airport traffic cap or “quit and let someone else do the job,” reports The Mirror.
The budget carrier’s request coincides with Ryanair’s announcement that it has moved three planes, sixteen new routes, and more than 200 jobs to southern Italy from Dublin, where they were originally scheduled to go due to the artificial traffic restriction.
An airline representative claims that the traffic restriction has rendered Ireland unusable for business, with the nation now losing travellers and revenue to other EU airports run by Green Transport Minister Catherine Martin and Green Tourism Minister.
Ryanair has demanded that the minister of transport either issue an interim directive to Dublin Airport to remove the artificial traffic cap and facilitate the growth of Irish tourism, or the government should enact legislation to raise the cap indefinitely until the planning process is finished, which may take three or four years, reports The Mirror.
It also urged Minister of Tourism for the Green Party, Catherine Martin, to intervene in the event that Minister Ryan is unwilling to.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: “Dublin Airport has today lost three aircraft, 16 routes and over 200 jobs to southern Italy as a direct result of Transport Minister Ryan’s inaction and incompetence,” reports The Mirror.
“His own aviation policy commits him to growing Irish aviation and tourism, but instead of delivering growth, after four years as Transport Minister, he has delivered a traffic cap at Dublin Airport which could last for three or four years if left to a couple of county councillors in Fingal and Ireland’s archaic planning system,” he added, reports The Mirror.
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