Ryanair has warned that if the number of aircraft seats needs to be reduced for the season in order to comply with the continuing restriction, then fare for travellers using Dublin Airport next summer may be forced higher, reports RTE.
In order to prevent the airport’s annual capacity of 32 million people from being exceeded the next year, the airline has indicated that a decrease of up to 1 million passengers may be necessary.
According to Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, “any such cuts will do real damage to Irish tourism and Irish jobs and will result in much higher air fares for Irish citizens and their families going abroad in summer 2025.”
He added on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the 1 million figure comes from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which has written to all airlines and the daa to request suggestions on how the reduction can be carried out in reality and to guarantee that any decrease will be carried out as efficiently as possible, reports RTE.
He said that the capacity cap was “ridiculous” and “idiotic,” adding that “the IAA don’t even know what they are up to at the moment.”
Mr. O’Leary has reiterated his demand that the government remove the cap, which was imposed in order to obtain planning clearance for the airport’s second terminal, reports RTE.
“This planning restriction, which dates from 2007, was designed to address fears that road access to/from the airport would not be able to facilitate traffic over 32m per year,” stated Mr. O’Leary.
“It is clear that this concern is no longer valid and since road traffic is not an issue, Minister Ryan should instruct the IAA to ignore this 17-year-old cap,” reports RTE.
Regarding the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, State Minister of Transportation James Lawless stated that he is available to meet with Michael O’Leary or representatives of any other airline.
According to Minister Lawless, there are several authorities involved with the complicated planning concerns at Dublin Airport, such as the Irish Aviation Authority, An Bord Pleanala, and Fingal County Council.
“[We’ve added] a second terminal, second runway, we’ve added capacity and new features, every couple of years, and as is normal with the planning system that has brought with it certain conditions,” he stated, reports RTE.
“Those conditions are being hit, and in some cases exceeded, and we need to get it sorted” .
The Minister said that rural airports do not have passenger limitations.
“Michael O’Leary is very welcome to park his planes in Cork, or indeed in Shannon or any other regional airport”, he stated, reports RTE.
In addition, he expressed his inability to comprehend “why it would cost €500 to fly the same passenger in December if it costs €50 per head to fly a passenger into Dublin Airport today.”
“Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to, if Ryanair or any other airline decides to hike up their prices because they have a captive audience that’s a commercial decision they have made,” he stated, reports RTE.
The minister stated that he did not think the planning criteria would have allowed for such a price hike.
No recommendation for less summertime traffic in 2025 – IAA
The IAA is in charge of Dublin Airport’s slot distribution, reports RTE.
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