Airport charges to be reviewed

AVIATION regulator Bill Prasifka says he will begin a review of airport charges in Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

The Commissioner for Aviation Regulation said in a statement yesterday that he had identified “a number of issues which it appeared might constitute substantial ground for a review”.

Two years ago the regulator set down how much Aer Rianta should charge passengers for five years.

The semi-State company, however, argued that the charges were too low.

It went to the High Court to appeal the charges but lost its case in June.

A spokesman for Aer Rianta yesterday welcomed the regulator’s decision and said the company was hopeful of a positive outcome.

Aer Rianta has the option to appeal the High Court’s judgement but has yet to do so.

The regulator indicated during the case that he was prepared to review the charges based on information that had emerged during the case.

Mr Prasifka’s statement yesterday said the new review arose from a number of issues that had arisen since his original determination in early 2001.

He will be looking at the commercial consequences for airport management and the airline business since the war in Iraq and the possibility of a second terminal at Dublin Airport.

The airlines are likely to be seeking lower prices from Mr Prasifka in light of an announcement by Aer Rianta this week that it was increasing charges at Dublin Airport.

Aer Rianta said that landing charges per passenger at Dublin would increase to €5.45 from €5 after the regulator increased the cap on the price that could be charged from €5.27 to €5.45.

Mr Prasifka said that in November he would outline the precise scope of the review and allow a 30-day consultation period for all parties to make their case.

However, responses to a consultation this summer on whether to conduct a review found that all airlines at Dublin were expecting charges to fall.