Europe’s top court will indicate next month if it is likely to quash the 32 million passenger limit at Dublin Airport.
The Irish High Court asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in December 2024 to clarify if slot limits imposed by regulators at Dublin Airport on foot of the passenger cap complied with EU laws.
Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona, the advocate general dealing with the case in Europe, will give his opinion on the questions that the Irish court posed on February 12th, the ECJ confirmed on Wednesday.
An advocate general’s opinion is not binding, but it can guide the ECJ and indicate what its ruling is likely to be. Final rulings follow the advocate general’s opinion more often than not.
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Consequently, Mr Campos Sánchez-Bordona‘s opinion will signal whether the controversial passenger cap, introduced as a condition of the airport opening its second runway, is likely to survive a legal challenge.
The ECJ is expected to issue its final, binding decision in four to six months, sources say.
Irish carrier Ryanair and US group Airlines for America (A4A), both parties to the case, have said that the EU courts are likely to scrap the limit.
The airlines challenged a decision by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which regulates flight slots at the airport, to impose summer and winter seat limits on carriers operating at Dublin in 2024.
The airport manager, State company DAA, proposed that the authority take the passenger cap into account when setting the terms for allocating take-off and landing slots at Dublin.
Slot allocation is the only practical means of enforcing the passenger limit, which planners imposed in 2007 as a condition of allowing Dublin build its second terminal, to avoid the risk of traffic jams on roads leading to the airport.
The Irish High Court will have to follow the ECJ’s final ruling on the issues raised when it deals with the airlines’ challenge.
The court barred the IAA from taking the passenger cap into account when setting the terms for slot allocation, pending the outcome of the airlines’ case, effectively suspending the cap.
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Dublin Airport handled around 36 million passengers last year, a figure likely to increase in 2026.
A4A formally complained to the US department of transportation last week, saying the cap breached EU-US air travel treaties and warning that it would discriminate against the organisation’s members.
In a move that could hit Aer Lingus, A4A wants the US authorities to limit or suspend Irish airlines’ rights to fly to that country if the Republic’s Government does not lift the cap by February 1st.
The Government is due to propose lifting the cap through legislation, but the Oireachtas is unlikely to pass such a law before late this year or early 2027.
A4A’s complaint was a further embarrassment on the issue for the Government, which pledged to end the limit when it took office last year.
