Ryanair accuses Dublin Airport of seeking charges hike while passengers queue

Ryanair is demanding that the Government block Dublin Airport owner DAA’s bid for increased passenger charges while it “mismanages” the recovery in air travel. More than 1,000 people missed flights from Dublin Airport over the weekend as queues overwhelmed staff.

Airline boss Eddie Wilson on Monday demanded that Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe tell DAA to abandon an application to increase charges at the airport. The company argued that there was no justification for a boost to the airport’s “already high charges” while air traffic and tourism recover from the impact of the pandemic.

DAA has asked the Commission for Aviation Regulation to increase its current €8.50 per passenger charge to a maximum of €14.58 by 2026. The airport company plans a €2.5 billion expansion of its facilities to allow it handle up to 40 million passengers annually by the end of the decade.

However Mr Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the group’s biggest company, accused DAA of using the “extravagant” spending plans to gouge airline customers.

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“The DAA should instead concentrate on fixing recruitment to deliver an efficient customer service through security rather than dreaming up new charges for facilities that nobody wants and which damage tourism recovery,” he said.