Dublin Airport passenger cap a 'joke', says Willie Walsh

The head of the global airline body IATA said the cap is preventing airlines from expanding into the Irish market

Willie Walsh said the Government will have to intervene if a long-term solution is to be found. Picture: Kevin Coombs

Willie Walsh, the head of the global airline body IATA, has said a passenger cap at Dublin airport has become "a joke" internationally and is preventing airlines from expanding there.

The number of passengers at the airport, which carries around 80% of the country's air passengers, was capped at 32m when planners approved the construction of a second terminal in 2007, in part to avoid local road congestion.