James Lawless, the Minister of State, has labelled the yearly limit of 32 million passengers at Dublin Airport as “outdated” while interacting with Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair. Detailed discussions with involved parties concerning the passenger limit are planned by Mr. Lawless. There are growing concerns that limiting the passenger inflow could adversely affect aviation, trade and tourism sectors.
Before the planned meetings, Mr. Lawless stated the existing cap seems outdated due to the changing travel dynamics, pointing to the increased use of bus travel to the airport, rising from 15% to 35% since 2006. This shift means millions less passengers arriving by car, reducing road congestion.
Mr. Lawless expressed a willingness to entertain any potential solutions from the involved parties and he aims to find an innovative resolution to the current deadlock.
DAA, the firm that manages the airport, claims to have taken substantial measures to align passenger flow with the planning limits set by An Bord Pleanála in 2007. The airport, run by state-owned firm DAA, is estimated to have served roughly 33 million passengers this year. Kenny Jacobs, the CEO of DAA criticises the cap’s effect on Ireland’s image &, believes it will likely deter foreign direct investments. To combat this, DAA requested Fingal County Council to raise the cap to 40 million and has initiated a temporary application aiming to boost infrastructure upgrades and thus, the passenger cap.
Ahead of his meeting with Mr O’Leary, Mr Lawless expressed the need for improved agility while dealing with large scale infrastructure projects. Though strategic infrastructure legislation from mid-2000s intended to achieve this, its effectiveness has been reduced since. According to Mr Lawless, improving infrastructure has been a key proposal in his policy document and is expected to be a major point in the party’s upcoming manifesto.
Mr. O’Leary has previously labelled the cap as “ridiculous and foolish”, questioning the commitment of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to the aviation sector or his interest in economic growth and development, which O’Leary sees as limited at best. He cautioned that round trip air tickets to and from Dublin around the festive season this year may cost as much as €1,000.
A person close to Minister Ryan responded by commenting, “Michael O’Leary has been posturing a lot. The real test will come after their meeting to see if there is any actual substance behind his grand words.”
In addition to Mr O’Leary, the government will be conducting meetings with representatives from Cork, Shannon airports, and DAA, as well as members of local businesses and resident groups.