Ryanair launched an attack on daa recently accusing them of “incompetence” and having caused Ireland international embarrassment during the summer.
In correspondence with the aviation regulator, the airline said proposed hikes in airport charges were “unjustified” and that it was not confident daa could spend any increased budget effectively.
Ryanair also called for the State-owned airport authority — which operates both Dublin and Cork airports — to be hit with penalties over lengthy queues and said the increased charges being sought were “wildly excessive”.
In a letter to the Commission for Aviation Regulation, Ryanair said daa was now looking for what in real terms would be a 91 per cent increase in the price cap. “DAA wants airport users to pay additional sums in airport charges for its own lack of foresight and resource planning,” it said.
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Ryanair accused the airport authority of being unprepared for the bounce-back in air travel this summer, which had resulted in chaotic queues.
The letter, which was sent in early July, said: “DAA’s ongoing security queue issues are exclusively down to poor management and must not be conflated with an incorrect perception that the price cap needs to increase in order to solve the security queue issues.”
It said daa’s request for extra money was “alarming and inconsistent” with trying to support recovery after the pandemic.
Ryanair said changing financial information from daa was “chaotic and unpredictable” for how it communicated with the regulator and passengers.
In another letter in late June, Ryanair hit out at what it said were alarming plans for what the airline described as an effective 88 per cent rise in passenger charges. It said this would harm traffic recovery and result in significant capacity restrictions and lost connectivity at Dublin Airport.
“More frankly, following the chaos at Dublin Airport these past weeks, which resulted in thousands of passengers missing their flights, as well as the associated reputational damage to brand Ireland, we are not confident in DAA management’s ability to manage such significant capital expenditure projects efficiently.”
They said the price hike being sought was “without precedent” and that if Dublin Airport did not have such market power within Ireland it would have led to a “cessation of all operations at the airport by Ryanair”.
“Ryanair will be forced to cancel new and low margin routes [especially in the weaker winter and shoulder periods], instead focusing on proven big city pairings and peak sun and leisure, all of which will lead to an inefficient use of existing infrastructure and staffing.”
When asked about the correspondence, Ryanair said it had nothing to add while the Commission for Aviation Regulation said it had no comment to make.
A spokesman for the daa said: “Ensuring aeronautical charges are set at an appropriate level is key to ensuring that [we] are able to deliver the quality of service that both passengers and airlines expect and deserve at Dublin Airport. Airport charges at Dublin Airport are already ultra-low versus our peer airports.”
While acknowledging the summer had been challenging at Dublin Airport, he said virtually all passengers have been getting through security screening in under 30 minutes since the start of August.
