Move flights to regional airports to avoid capacity issues at Dublin - Limerick Chamber

Airport delays should be an eye-opener for how “imbalanced” the aviation industry is in Ireland

Passengers queuing at Dublin Airport over Easter as they made their way through security. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The country's regional airports should be utilised to solve the delays and queues at Dublin Airport, Limerick Chamber has said.

Chamber CEO Dee Ryan said that the recent problems at Dublin Airport can be relieved by transferring certain flights to Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports.

“There is an obvious solution here and that is to make use of the spare capacity of airports in other regions. If Dublin Airport won’t do this, the Department of Transport should step in and compel it to open conversations with Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports with a view to using their spare capacity,” said Ms Ryan.

Ms Ryan said that diverting flights would, overall, be a better outcome for passengers.

“Diverting some services to Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports may inconvenience travellers originating in Dublin or with Dublin as their destination, but is not nearly as inconvenient as horrendously long queues and inadequate parking options currently being experienced in Dublin,” said Ms Ryan.

Earlier this month, Dublin Airport advised travellers to arrive approximately four hours before their flight due to delays caused by pandemic related staff shortages. The airport said these delays could last weeks.

Ms Ryan welcomed the recent government announcement of funding for State-owned airports through the Regional Airports Programme. However, she said that the capacity issues at Dublin demonstrate the need for an urgent overhaul of aviation policy and have reaffirmed concerns that the delays at Dublin Airport will impact the recovery of Ireland’s aviation industry as a whole.

“Aviation policy needs to have an all-Ireland approach as distinct from a Dublin Airport centric one,” she said.

“Dublin Airport’s monopoly is way out of sync with international norms. If you look at Germany, for example, its fifth largest city, Frankfurt, has the country’s largest airport, with more than double the traffic levels of its capital and largest city, Berlin,” she added.

Ms Ryan said that these delays should be an eye-opener for the Department of Transport for how “imbalanced” the aviation industry is in Ireland.

“Not one of those airports are near capacity at present. Prior to Covid, they were not near capacity, and they are still significantly off their pre-pandemic passenger numbers. So, right now they can alleviate the pressure on Dublin Airport and its staff, provide an important boost to business at those airports and a more comfortable experience for the travelling public.”

Her comments follow the confirmation of almost €10m for Cork and Shannon airports to boost infrastructure after qualifying for regional funding for the first time due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two Munster airports were never eligible for funding under the Regional Airports Programme previously, with the likes of Kerry, Knock, and Donegal the focus of previous rounds.