State airports company DAA is seeking a new chief executive as Irish air travel heads for another shake up.
The company responsible for Cork and Dublin airports has been without a permanent chief executive since previous incumbent Kenny Jacobs left in February.
DAA’s board will advertise the €374,000-a-year post on Friday. Executive headhunter Odgers will handle the recruitment process.
The business runs the two Irish airports, which handle almost 40 million passengers a year, and international airport management and retail businesses in 13 different countries.
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DAA has begun seeking its new chief as it looks likely that Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien will shortly lift a controversial 32-million-a-year limit on passengers at Dublin Airport.
The Oireachtas recently passed legislation allowing the Minister to increase or axe the so-called passenger cap.
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A ministerial order lifting the limit would end a row that has dogged DAA’s biggest business for several years and threatened to hinder growth there.
Courts halted its implementation following legal action by airlines, but a key European Union ruling could have forced regulators to impose the limit, had the law not been passed.
Meanwhile, regulators are likely to cut Dublin’s passenger charges from next year. Airlines argue that this will spur growth, but DAA warns it will limit its ability to invest to enable the airport handle more passengers.
The Irish Aviation Authority will decide on the final level of charges by the end of the year.
DAA’s biggest airline customer, Ryanair, has pledged to add two million seats to Dublin should the regulator cut charges as proposed.
However, Aer Lingus, its other key airline client, plans to reduce some flights next year as it seeks to cut costs.
DAA deputy chief executive Nick Cole stepped into the post after Jacobs left in February.
His departure followed months of controversy sparked by differences between the former chief executive and the DAA board.
Jacobs settled legal action taken against the company in February.
