Aer Lingus and Ryanair oppose DAA hikes

AER LINGUS and Ryanair are opposing plans by the Dublin Airport Authority to increase the cost of renting facilities such as check-in desks.

The Dublin Airport Authority has asked the Commission for Aviation Regulation to increase the cost of using the facilities by the rate of inflation. It costs airlines just over €16,700 to rent the desk plus an hourly fee of €20.40. The DAA has asked the regulator to increase the annual charge to €21,100 and the hourly rate to €21.40.

But the two airlines, which account for seven out of every ten flights from the airport are opposed to the hikes. “The check-in desk rental greatly exceeds the original cost of recovery of the provision of these check-in desks in the terminal building that is over 20 years old. As the check-in desk rental at Dublin Airport is already inflated and excessive there is no justification for any cost increases,” Ryanair’s head of regulation Jim Callaghan said in a letter to the aviation regulator.