Aviation regulator planning 'no major changes' to passenger charges at Dublin Airport  

The aviation regulator is unlikely to alter existing passenger charges at Dublin Airport. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has signalled it will make no major changes to passenger charges for 2020 and 2021 at Dublin Airport after examining if they should be reviewed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the airline industry.

The regulator said it would also be “disproportionate” to require Daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, to rebate users as a result of an over-collection of passenger charges above the €7.50 cap this year due to higher contributions from revenue streams like aircraft parking charges.

However, the CAR said it would remove triggers and adjustments relating to the price caps for 2020 and 2021 which were based on outdated targets or would provide perverse incentives as well as having an impact which was not anticipated in 2019.

In a draft decision, the CAR said it would also remove adjustments relating to 2020 and 2021 which would impact price caps for 2022 and beyond.

“In our view, the impact of Covid-19 clearly constitutes substantial grounds for carrying out such a review at this time,” the regulator stated.

It observed the impact was exceptional and outside the control of Dublin Airport.

The CAR has proposed that it will apply a series of caps for 2020 which will reflect the individual airport charges applicable during the year while retaining the original price cap of €7.50 per passenger for 2021.

Daa had called for the price caps for 2020 and 2021 to be retained at €7.50 on the basis that any reduction would exacerbate the current losses it was suffering.

“A reduction in charge at this difficult time will further damage the airport’s precarious cashflows with no guarantees that the savings will be passed on to consumers or have any potential for stimulating additional demand,” said Dublin Airport’s head of planning and economic regulation, Simon Fagan.

Daa claimed the retention of the €7.50 price cap would provide stability and cost certainty for all operators.

It also accepted that an increase in passenger charges would be inappropriate at a time when demand was so depressed.

Daa figures show that aircraft movement this year at Dublin Airport is down 65% compared to 2019, while passenger numbers have fallen by 90%.

Ryanair said it was opposed to any review by the CAR which would result in an increase in airport charges at Dublin Airport in the short to medium term, while recovery from the Covid-19 downturn was ongoing.

The CAR said it believed a further review of passenger charges at Dublin Airport would be required over the coming years. The regulator also plans “a meaningful consultation process” about capital projects worth over €4m which Daa might want to progress at Dublin Airport in this year or next.