With the new Coalition having committed itself to resolution of the Dublin Airport passenger cap row in the programme for government, there is some hope the tiresome back and forth over issue might finally reach a denouement in the foreseeable. An even bigger headache for Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton, it seems, is the planning watchdog’s draft ruling last year on Dublin Airport night flights.
For those in need of a refresher, the short version is that in a planning appeal taken by local residents, An Bord Pleanála largely found in favour of DAA in September, agreeing to replace the existing cap on night-time aircraft movement at the airport with a noise quota system.
However, the decision also included what Embleton described on a conference call with reporters on Friday as the “strange insertion” of an annual cap on the number of flights that can arrive and depart between 11pm and 7am from the north runway.
Essentially, An Bord Pleanála’s proposal would slash night-time flights by about 60 per cent, a decision she said was “absolute madness”.
“It’s not as prominent in the discussion as the passenger cap,” Embleton said after the airline and its parent, IAG, reported annual results for 2024 on Friday morning, “but I believe it’s got the potential to be even more damaging.”
That’s quite a statement, given the anguish that convulsed various stakeholders over the passenger cap row last year. But Embleton’s reasoning certainly gives food for thought.
If implemented, the decision would clearly impact Aer Lingus’s transatlantic offering, she said.
“If you think about the functioning of an airport,” she said, “you think about a hub where passengers can come in from Europe and from the US and connect onwards. You just can’t do that with this level of reduction.”
From a bottom-line perspective, she explained, the shortening of the day would diminish aircraft efficiency and the return Aer Lingus gets on its assets. She implied this would have an impact on the “likelihood” of IAG investing here in the future, given it has “plenty of places it can put [its] capital”.
The former national carrier is already having some of its transatlantic lunch eaten by US competitors, a contributing factor behind the decline in its operating profits from €225 million to €205 million last year. It’s no surprise then that Embleton – and Aer Lingus – sound somewhat exercised about a decision that could hamstring its ability to maintain and grow capacity on American routes.
