Due to an ongoing dispute regarding Dublin Airport’s annual passenger limit, Ryanair has planned to transport the Leinster Rugby team from Belfast for their European matches this season, revealed the airline on Monday. Ryanair had recently penned a letter to the Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, asking him to instruct the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to allocate extra slots to prevent a winter quandary. They stated that the former chairman of the Green Party did not act, causing the team to organise their travel from Belfast for European Rugby Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship matches this season.
Matches that will be impacted include Leinster’s competition with La Rochelle in January and away games in Bristol and Cardiff. An official statement from Leinster Rugby is yet to be received.
Dublin Airport, which is seeing its highest number of passengers this year, is expected by the DAA (Dublin Airport operator) to exceed its annual limit of 32 million passengers by approximately one million individuals. This could result in it violating the 2007 An Bord Pleanála ruling, which defined a limit for airport passenger numbers as part of the planning permission for a new northern runway.
The DAA has submitted an application to Fingal County Council, proposing to increase the cap to 40 million, but a finalised verdict is yet to be determined.
In May, amid this dispute, the IAA debuted a capacity restriction of 14.4 million seats at the airport for the winter season in 2024, effective from October 2024 to March 2025. This indicates that additional winter slots, usually provided to airlines during the Christmas period due to increased travel demand, won’t be assigned this year.
Despite Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, stating on a Monday announcement that the minister could legally direct the IAA to enable additional flight slots under the Aviation Act 2001, the Irish Transport Minister refuses to do so. The airline even drafted and submitted a letter of direction to the department previously this month. Mr O’Leary finds this neglect in utilizing his legal prerogative for the approval of these extra flights unpalatable. If this neglect continues, he appeals to Green Tourism Minister Catherine Martin for intervention.
A couple of weeks ago, the Minister of State in the Department of Transport, James Lawless, met with Mr O’Leary at Ryanair’s Dublin main office. Lawless sought suggestions to prevent a probable winter calamity at Dublin Airport. He advised airlines to consider diversifying their Irish routes, moving away from Dublin Airport towards regional terminals such as Shannon and Cork Airport, as a potential resolution.
However, according to Mr O’Leary, while speaking at Ryanair’s yearly general assembly, he opines that the Minister’s proposal doesn’t seem feasible. He highlighted that the anticipated influx of passengers from London and the UK over Christmas would prefer to fly directly to Dublin. They wish to travel straight to Dublin or surrounding areas, rather than detour via Cork and Shannon.