DAA returns to profit amid rebound in air travel

The company that manages Dublin and Cork Airports returned to profit in the first half of 2022, as demand for travel surged while the pandemic ebbed.

Half-year accounts for DAA plc, posted to the stock market in Dublin on Friday, show the company reported a profit after tax of €23.6 million for the six months to the end of June, compared to a €116.1 million loss during the corresponding period a year earlier when Covid-19 still gripped the aviation industry.

Overall, 13 million passengers passed through Dublin and Cork Airports between January and June, down about one-fifth on pre-pandemic levels due to restrictions put in place early in the year to combat the Omicron variant of the virus. About 7.8 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport between April and June. That was 14 per cent higher than the same three months in 2019 before the pandemic.

Dublin Airport was intermittently gripped by delays processing passengers from April onwards through the summer as the DAA dealt with issues around check-in and security screening. At times through the peak summer season, passengers had to queue for hours to get through to their flights, with many having travel plans disrupted.

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Separately, the Minister of State with responsibility for aviation, Hildegarde Naughton, raised concerns about the cleanliness of Dublin Airport with DAA chairman Basil Geoghegan at the start of June.

‘Flights and capacity’

While the company said the surge in passenger travel “presented a significant challenge for airports and companies in the aviation sector generally”, it said it “has been able to avoid introducing the type of restrictive measures adopted by other international airports, such as the significant cuts in flights and capacity, ensuring that the huge demand among Irish people for international travel this summer has been met”, in the accounts.

Dublin and Cork avoided placing limits on airlines’ operations to ease pressure from the increased number of travellers that airports have put in place elsewhere. London’s Heathrow cut the number of departing passengers to about 100,000 per day, while Amsterdam’s Schiphol plans to keep passenger caps in place until next spring amid an ongoing shortage of security personnel.

“The sharp rebound in passenger numbers has presented a significant challenge for airports and companies in the aviation sector generally all over the world, with Dublin Airport and, to a lesser extent, Cork Airport not immune,” it said.

As the DAA struggled with staff shortages at Dublin through the summer, the Government put the Army on standby to free up Dublin Airport staff to help with passenger screening, although soldiers were ultimately never required.

“Airport operations stabilised through the summer months and that has continued into September with most passengers passing through security within 30 minutes,” a DAA spokesman said. “We will continue to hire staff as required.”

The company received €56.5 million in Government pandemic supports during the period, up from €24 million in 2021.

DAA chief executive Dalton Phillips resigned in May to become chief executive of sandwich maker Greencore. Finance director Catherine Gubbins was named interim boss last month.