Business

Airlines warn they may switch ‘focus’ from Dublin amid passenger cap uncertainty

Multiple carriers call on Fingal County Council to lift 32 million passenger limit

Passenger numbers at Dublin are currently capped at 32 million per year. Photograph: Colin Keegan/ Collins Dublin

Gordon Deegan
Wed Jan 31 2024 - 18:02

The lack of certainty over the annual passenger cap at Dublin Airport may compel carriers at one of the world’s largest airline groups to focus on other airports if a decision is delayed.

That is the warning from Jordi Pla Pintre, a director at low-cost Spanish airline Vueling, who is one of a number of airline executives to call on Fingal County Council to raise the current 32 million passenger per annum cap at Dublin Airport to 40 million.

Vueling is part of the IAG Group that also owns Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia.

In a submission, Mr Pla Pintre on behalf of Vueling said that “retaining the existing cap” of 32 million “restricts airlines’ ability to grow volumes into Dublin”.

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“The lack of certainty over the cap makes it challenging to forecast effectively and may compel IAG carriers to focus on other destinations or airports if a decision is delayed,” he said. “Fingal County Council should consider granting an immediate interim increase in the passenger cap at Dublin Airport pending the consideration of the full planning application.”

The DAA airport expansion application is facing strong opposition from residents living in north Dublin and Fingal County Council is due to make a decision on the application next month.

In its submission, Emirates Airlines noted that the restriction “means we are unable to grow our business and may need to look at other destinations or airports as a more viable option”.

US carrier JetBlue is to launch its transatlantic services out of Dublin next month and its vice-president of government and airport affairs, Jeffrey Goodell, told the council raising the passenger cap “will enable JetBlue and other airlines to begin or grow our offerings in Dublin, resulting in a more competitive and diverse offering for consumers”.

General manager Ireland at Chinese carrier, Hainan Airlines, Xeuzheng Wang (Frank Wang) told the council it would like to increase the frequency of its flights between Beijing and Dublin to four flights per week when it resumes in April but “we haven’t got the slot due to lack of infrastructure”.

Director with Westjet Jared Mikoch-Gerke said that without long-term growth in sustainable infrastructure at the airport “it will be difficult to continue to add capacity and new routes into the market”.

HiSky Europe operates flights between Dublin and Romania and Moldova and its deputy chief executive, Victor Sula, told the council that “the growth of our operations at Dublin is stopped due to limits capacity at the airport. Additional slots at better times are not available for a few years.”

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times

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