In a prudent move, DAA gave up its bid to acquire the QuickPark facility near Dublin Airport and its 6,200 parking lots following the rejection of the €70m transaction by the competition regulator last week. The DAA statement stressed the necessity for more parking spaces at Dublin Airport, prompting QuickPark’s proprietors and other potential purchasers to act swiftly to reopen the facility and relieve the pressure on Dublin Airport’s parking.
DAA ownership and operation of the former QuickPark site would have provided consumers with greater options and cheaper prices, according to DAA. However, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) refutes this claim, arguing that such a deal could result in higher prices and poorer service quality for consumers, affording DAA a 90% share of car parking at Dublin Airport following nearly a year of transaction analysis.
For DAA, car park operation represents a substantial source of income, as indicated by its own financial statements. At the end of 2015, DAA earned €36 million from 26,916 parking spaces at Dublin and Cork Airports. Four years later, in 2019, DAA’s car park revenues at the airports rose by 64% to approximately €59 million, albeit with fewer spaces (26,639). Despite the fall in revenues to €15 million in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions, the current income should be considerably higher than the 2019 figure given the full operation of the airport at its 32 million passenger limit and frequent selling out of parking lots over the past year.
In order to offer consumers reduced parking prices, DAA could lower their own rates, which currently stand at a maximum of €15 per day for long-term spaces and €40 per day for short-term spaces. Back in July 2019, a high travel period, QuickPark charged Cantillon €52 for an eight-day stay. The same length of stay cost €82 at one of the long-term DAA car parks earlier this month, representing a 58% increase due to the lack of competition. We urgently need a fresh proprietor for QuickPark.