Ryanair won't add more Dublin routes due to passenger cap - RTE.ie

Ryanair will not be growing its routes in and out of Dublin this summer because of the passenger cap at the airport, the airline has said today.

The company also warned that the cap is also blocking its plan to grow Irish traffic by 50% between now and 2030.

However, launching its summer schedule, the airline said it is expecting to grow traffic at regional airports Cork, Shannon and Knock over the coming months.

"Dublin Airport is a piece of national infrastructure and we cannot wait four years or longer from planning delays to have the cap lifted," Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary said at a briefing in Dublin this morning.

Dublin Airport is close to its 32 million passengers per year limit and operator daa is currently seeking permission to have the cap lifted to 40 million.

Today the airline once again reiterated its call for the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to take urgent action, even on an interim basis, to scrap the cap.

Mr O'Leary said the ministers should either "grow, or go".

The matter is currently before the planning authorities and the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said it is not appropriate for him to intervene, despite strong calls from airlines and business organisations for the cap to be lifted.

Mr O’Leary said without the cap restrictions, it would have placed four more aircraft in Dublin for summer of 2024, creating 12 new routes and growing passenger numbers by 2 million on last year.

Instead, he said, the new aircraft will be placed elsewhere in Europe, with just one new aircraft coming to Ireland this summer, to Cork.

He said if the Government can not intervene by ministerial order then it should pass legislation.

Despite the difficulties in Dublin, the airline said it expects to add 50 new Boeing 737 aircraft and plans to open 80 new routes across Europe.

This will lead to traffic rising by 16 million passengers, from 183.5 million to over 200 million.

Earlier the Aer Lingus chief executive, Lynne Embleton, said the passenger cap at Dublin was a serious issue.

"And this has not been well managed at all," she claimed.

"And it will have serious consequences if it isn't lifted and that would be for the airlines, it would be for jobs and more importantly it is for the economy."

She said an independent study had found that for every 1m passengers that don't get to come into Ireland there is a €1.4bn loss to the economy in direct and indirect value.

She added that because Ireland is an island nation connectivity is really important, and so this needs to be resolved really quickly.

"And if that means a two step planning process where we get a quick interim lift to the passenger cap that may be necessary."

Ms Embleton said for the moment the airline is sticking with its current plans for Dublin but is in dialogue with airport operator daa.

She said the other issue is the need to lift the long-term cap to 40m by 2030, which is something the airline supports.

She said she had seen references to increased carbon emissions and understandably that has become a debating point.

But she said the company's forecasts show Aer Lingus can grow its passenger numbers 20% to 2030, reduce emissions per passenger and total net emissions.

"So the debate we need to be having around growth is good for the economy, and it can be done sensibly and with consideration to the environment," she stated.

Speaking in the southeast today, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said he is "very broadly" in favour of more passengers coming through Dublin Airport but added that the daa's application to raise the passenger cap needs to be dealt with through planning.

Asked today if he agrees that the cap makes Dublin Airport uncompetitive, Paschal Donohoe said: "This is currently the subject of a planning process".

"This is being dealt with by Fingal County Council and it wouldn't really be appropriate for me to be involved in a matter that is now being dealt with through our planning process," he said.

"Very broadly I do support more passengers coming through our airport - that's consistent with our national aviation policy. This specific matter of the cap is one that's now being dealt with by our planning process," he added.

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2024-02-29 10:35:17Z
CBMiSGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnJ0ZS5pZS9uZXdzL2J1c2luZXNzLzIwMjQvMDIyOS8xNDM1MTI3LXJ5YW5haXItZHVibGluLXBsYW5zL9IBAA