Ryanair backs plan to slash passenger charges

Ryanair backed the aviation regulator's plan for a 22 per cent cut in passenger charges at Dublin Airport as a row over the levy deepened yesterday.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) wants to veto €170 million of proposed spending by Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to allow the cap on its passenger charges to be cut by 22 per cent from €10.68 to €8.35 between next year and 2019.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said that the airline supported the CAR’s position and believed that the airport did not need further cash for capital spending now that its second terminal was up and running.

The DAA wants the charges, which airlines pass on to passengers, capped at €13.50, although it has said it does not intend to increase them from this year’s average of €10.50 by any more than the rate of inflation.

DAA chief executive Kevin Toland warned that the commission's proposals would stifle growth at the airport at a time when it should be expanding.

The State-owned company maintains that it is already cheaper than rival airports. In 2012 its fees were €10.45 per passenger, 24 per cent lower than European peers, which charged an average of €13.64.

However, Mr O’Leary indicated that Dublin could lose out to rival hubs if it increased charges and said it would affect the rate at which Ryanair intended to expand there: “I would not think that it would mark the end to our expansion in Dublin but it would certainly be significantly slower.”

The company says it will bring more than 1.1 million extra passengers through the airport this year, as a direct result of the Government’s decision to axe its €3 travel tax.

The commission's proposals have also drawn fire from the Irish Aviation Authority, which warned that they would endanger security measures and possibly force it to refuse to license the airport.