Ireland's airports 'significantly underperformed' on passenger growth

Airports Council International report says total passenger growth at Irish airports was 1.5%, far below the EU average of 6%

Passenger traffic through Irish airports grew by 1.5% in January compared to last year. This is well below the EU average increase of 6%. 

Ireland’s airports “significantly underperformed” the industry’s average passenger growth during January with the Dublin Airport cap expected to “hamper traffic gains”, an international airport body has said.

According to the Airports Council International, passenger traffic across Europe increased by 6.9% during January compared to the same period last year with the EU market growing at 6%.

As was the case in 2024, the gains in Europe were driven by international passenger traffic, up 8.3%, with domestic passengers increasing by just +2.7% and remaining -12.5% versus pre-pandemic levels.

The report noted that national markets across Europe are diverging with some countries recording double-digit growth year-on-year while others are stagnant or recorded a decline.

Ireland was noted as one of the markets which “significantly underperformed the industry average” during January, with a 1.5% increase across all Irish airports.

Germany was the only other country in the EU to record very slow growth — up 2.1% — while Sweden and Slovenia both recorded declines of 1.7% and 3.4% respectively. These markets underperformed due to a mix of “economic weakness, internal market struggles, and aviation taxes".

“This negative trend is set to expand to other countries, where aviation taxation is deterring passengers from travelling, with the most recent example coming from France,” the report said.

However, in Ireland’s case the passenger limit at Dublin Airport was also cited as an issue with Airports Council International (ACI) stating the “ongoing impact of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, continues to hamper traffic gains”.

Under the terms of its planning permission from 2007, Dublin Airport is limited to managing 32m passengers a year. However, it breached that limit last year.

Dublin Airport operator DAA has said it would like to see the passenger cap lifted so it can grow the airport but has had little success in achieving that.

It had submitted a planning application to increase the capacity of the airport to 36m a year without the need for further infrastructure being built. 

Fingal Council Council rejected the application stating it was invalid because it failed to comply with sections of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001.

DAA criticised the decision and plans to resubmit the planning application. It resubmitted the 'no build' operational application to Fingal County Council on February 4 taking on board feedback from the council.

The airport operator said this plan aims to provide a short-term solution to the terminals cap impasse impacting Ireland's connectivity, tourism, and economy

As this is going on, a challenge to the passenger cap by a cohort of airlines is making its way through the courts. 

In November, the High Court agreed to pause the effects of the passenger cap at Dublin airport for the upcoming summer schedule. 

The High Court also referred the legality of the passenger cap to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Countries in the EU that have seen strong passenger growth during January include Hungary, up 16.5%, Slovakia, up 14.4%, and Croatia, up 13.8%.

Major airports — those handling over 40m passengers a year — collectively grew their passenger traffic by 7% in January. Major airports include London-Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Madrid airport.

DAA has already submitted separate plans to Fingal County Council seeking to increase the passenger limit at Dublin Airport to 40m a year. 

It is also seeking permission to go ahead with 11 separate infrastructure projects to support this increase. However, this planning process is likely years away from being approved.

Airports that deal with 25m to 40m passengers a year reported a 6.1% growth compared to January last year. Dublin Airport would fit into this category.

Airports in this category which recorded the most growth included Milan Malpensa, up 14.9%, Athens, +14.5%, and Copenhagen, +13.9%.