Daa expects European courts to resolve Dublin Airport passenger limit issue 

Daa chief said he expected the issue of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport to be resolved in the Court of Justice of the European Union over the next year rather than through the planning process

Dublin Airport Authority chief executive Kenny Jacobs: Planning 'takes a long time and there are no deadlines'.  

The chief executive of Daa has said he expects the issue of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport to be resolved in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) over the next year rather than through the planning process which “takes a long time”.

This comes as Daa released figures confirming Dublin Airport breached its passenger cap of 32 million last year, with 33.3 million passengers travelling through its terminals. For the year, Daa generated revenues of €1.1bn — up from €1bn in 2023.

The operator spent the latter part of 2024 trying to dampen demand as it became apparent it would breach the cap set out in its planning permission from Fingal County Council.

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said Dublin airport could have handled an additional million passengers in 2024 if the passenger cap did not exist.

Last year, a cohort of airlines took a High Court challenge against a decision by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to limit the number of passenger seats that could fly into Dublin Airport during the summer, citing the need to comply with the limit.

This challenge was referred to the CJEU, which resulted in a stay on the effects of the cap for the seven-month period.

On the European court case, Mr Jacobs said he believed it would take at least 12 months to be determined.

“I would expect a decision there in 12 months because there's very keen interest in Europe — it's pretty black and white,” Mr Jacobs said.

On December 20 last, Daa lodged a "no build” operational application with Fingal County Council, seeking permission to raise the passenger limit to 36 million a year. It has separate planning applications for infrastructure improvements which also see the cap raised to 40 million a year.

”We are so far now, 14 months, with our eight million [increase] application sitting in Fingal and who knows how long it is going to take to go through the An Bord Pleanála process,” Mr Jacobs said.

"I think Europe will provide clarity sooner than planning being approved in Ireland. I hope I'm wrong, because that would mean that planning is going faster. But based on the form and what we've seen, planning is complex, planning takes a long time and there's no deadlines,” he said.

Sound insulation grant

Daa also announced a new sound insulation grant scheme for up to 400 eligible homes around Dublin Airport to address the needs of local residents impacted by aircraft noise.

It will contact eligible homeowners over the coming weeks, with further details on how to avail of the grant, which can amount to €30,000 per home.

In September, a draft decision published by an Bord Pleanála ruled that night-time flights to and from Dublin Airport be dramatically cut from their current levels.

The regulator said night flights — those arriving and taking off between 11pm and 7am — should be restricted to just 13,000 "movements" a year, or 36 flights a night. At least 33,000 flights passed through the airport during night-time hours in 2023, or about 90 a night.

Speaking about the draft decision, Mr Jacobs said if it is implemented, it would be an “unprecedented place to be”.

“That draft decision being a final decision is Dublin Airport going below 20 million annual traffic,” he said.

"The draft decision cannot become the final decision. If it does, it's going to be a massive dent in the Irish economy.”