SEVENTY YEARS ago the original terminal at Dublin airport, then called Collinstown, was opened amid great scepticism. A truly wonderful design by Desmond FitzGerald, it had the capacity to handle 250,000 passengers per annum. But one year into the second World War, the outlook for traffic was not propitious. In the first 12 months the terminal saw just over 10,000 passengers go through its doors.
The T2 terminal, which will be formally opened today, has much in common with its predecessor. It is a striking architectural statement of style and confidence. But as recession bites, it is coming on stream at a time when traffic levels have fallen and do not justify it. Arguably, the existing terminal can handle close to 25 million passengers a year. T2 is designed to cater for an extra 15 million. However, traffic through the entire airport this year will be less than 19 million.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has shifted its emphasis from insisting that the terminal must come on stream as soon as possible to stressing that it will have a life-span of 30 years – the implication being that it will start to pay for itself at some stage of its existence. Construction and related development has cost the DAA over €600 million. The company lost € 13 million last year and will soon have debts reaching € 1 billion. It must now cover the cost of operating two terminals when traffic levels would not fill one and it has enormous debt-servicing costs. Not surprisingly, it is transferring some pain to travellers with a sharp rise in airport charges.
The DAA’s challenge is to persuade new airlines to fly from T2 but the response from the global industry has not been encouraging. At home, Ryanair is not interested. T2’s main customer, Aer Lingus, has said its long-haul flights will not use the terminal until the new year while the rest of its passengers, although flying from T2, must check in at the old terminal. This announcement came only three days before the formal opening. The DAA clearly does not have its ducks in a row.
Dublin airport has the potential to become a significant hub for transatlantic travel for those flying east to Europe and those flying from the Middle East, India and elsewhere to America. T2 will offer a superior transit with the advantage of US customs and immigration clearance. But there is much to do. The Competition Authority in the UK ruled recently that British Airport Authority’s monopoly of airports was bad for passengers and bad for airlines. The DAA needs to prove conclusively that the same does not apply here.