Ryanair has warned that the cap on Dublin Airport passengers will lead to “record high air fares”.
The airline’s chief Michael O’Leary claimed the State’s restriction on Dublin passenger numbers could see air fares to Dublin this Christmas reach €500 one way as “reduced seat capacity fills”.
“Not alone is Dublin the world’s second most congested city for road traffic but Dublin Airport is Europe’s only capital city that has opened a second runway but due to a 17-year-old traffic cap we are not allowed to use it,” he said.
“Currently today in late August our lowest fares from London to Dublin on Friday, December 20th, Saturday, December 21st, or Sunday, December 22nd, are rapidly approaching €100 one way due to this Government’s failure to allow airlines to run extra flights to/from Dublin this Christmas,” Mr O’Leary said.
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His comments come in the wake of a warning by the chief executive of airport operator DAA Kenny Jacobs that the passenger cap would cost the Irish economy over €500 million in lost tourism revenue next year and could put up to 1,000 aviation jobs at risk.
The restriction, Mr Jacobs said, will represent a “large dent” in tourism spending in Ireland as there will be one million fewer passengers next year travelling through the airport.
The cap limits the number of passengers that can use the facilities each year to 32 million. It was introduced as part of the granting of planning permission for the second terminal at the airport in 2007 and for an extension of Terminal 1 which was approved in 2008.
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Decision on a planning application by DAA to raise the 32 million threshold to 40 million is pending. The airport operator is also working on an interim application to raise the cap to 36 million passengers.
“Dublin Airport, which has recently opened a second runway taking capacity to 60 million passengers, is constrained due to an outdated 2007 traffic cap of 32 million passengers, which was imposed because of concerns – 17 years ago – that road access at Dublin Airport would be congested when Dublin reached 32 million passengers,” Ryanair said in a statement.
“No such congestion has arisen despite the fact that Dublin’s traffic is over 32 million passengers. Ireland’s failing Transport Minister Eamon Ryan refuses to act to scrap this outdated and irrelevant traffic cap, even on an interim basis, while the DAA applies to Fingal County Council to abolish this 2007 cap,” it said.
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