Passenger restrictions at Dublin Airport will hit all aviation activity — DAA

Measures that Dublin Airport is introducing to ensure it does not breach its passenger cap will hit general flights, business flights, as well as extra flights scheduled by carriers for big sporting events, DAA chief Kenny Jacobs will tell the Oireachtas on Wednesday.

The number of passengers permitted to use the airport is capped at 32 million a year.

More than 25 million passengers passed through the airport in the first nine months of this year, with the numbers travelling returning to levels not seen since before the coronavirus shutdown, raising the prospect of the cap being breached by the end of the year.

The restriction dates back to 2008 when planners approved the airport’s second terminal, and is based on surface access or the number of vehicles allowed to come in and out of Dublin Airport.

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My Jacobs, who heads up the airport’s operator, will tell a meeting of the joint Oireachtas committee on transport and communications on Wednesday about the actions it is taking to ensure the cap is adhered to in 2023 and 2024.

These will include the discontinuation of transit flights since the end of October and the proposed suspension of applications for all ad hoc passenger movements.

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Mr Jacobs will caution that these restrictions will have an impact on the general aviation activity, including flights used by business executives jetting in for meetings in Ireland, sports and special event charters; and extra scheduled flights by carriers for big sporting events.

DAA is to lodge a planning application seeking to increase the cap by mid-December. It will also seek permission for a range of enhancements, including €500 million in sustainability investments to support a reduction in emissions at a bigger Dublin Airport.

Mr Jacobs will also argue that a passenger cap will not drive a reduction in emissions, but just move flights to competing airports in other countries.

He will further argue that the cap could lead to a loss of tens of thousands of jobs, connectivity, and lead to an increase in emissions and air fares in Ireland.

Mr Jacobs has previously said Dublin Airport, in order to keep pace with population changes, would need to be able to have 36 million or 37 million passengers a year by 2030.