Daa investigated over alleged breach of cap on passenger numbers

The investigation was instigated following complaints from members of the public that the passenger cap was set to be breached based on Daa’s own published figures for the number of passengers passing through its terminals for 2023.

Dublin Airport administrator Daa has been hit with a new enforcement investigation over the airport’s alleged breach of its annual 32 million passenger cap for 2023.

Local authority Fingal County Council confirmed that Daa is to be the subject of an investigation concerning “alleged unauthorised development” with regard to the controversial passenger cap.

The council said that the alleged unauthorised development concerns a potential exceedance or breach of the 32 million cap which was first put in place as part of the granted planning permission for the airport’s expansion dating from 2007.

“Please note that while an investigation is continuing, Fingal County Council will not be in a position to provide details of that investigation such as updates on findings following inspections or possible action to be taken, as to do so could prejudice the case and interfere with the administration of justice should legal proceedings be initiated,” the council said.

Public complaints

The investigation was instigated following complaints from members of the public that the cap was set to be breached based on Daa’s own published figures for the number of passengers passing through its terminals for 2023.

A spokesperson for Daa said it "confirms it has received a letter from Fingal County Council seeking clarity on Dublin Airport’s passenger numbers in 2023". A total of 31.9m passengers passed through the terminals of Dublin Airport last year, which complies with the 32m terminals cap. Daa is happy to provide Fingal County Council with all and any information required," the spokesperson said.

Daa had previously claimed in January that a breach of the cap had been narrowly avoided last year with 31.9m passengers noted “in compliance” with the restrictions.

The Irish Examiner reported however that the final official total passenger tally for 2023 was expected to be 33.5m.

Daa denied at the time that the cap had been breached, stating that its numbers had been “presented in a transparent manner” in late January to demonstrate that compliance.

The new investigation is one of roughly six instigated by Fingal County Council regarding potential breaches of planning at the airport over the past 18 months, though just one official enforcement order has resulted from those investigations, concerning Daa’s alleged breach of the cap of 65 night-time flights in place at Dublin Airport.

That order is currently the subject of a judicial review taken by Daa last summer in the High Court.

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Last November the airport filed a planning application to increase the number of passengers it can handle to 40m, with that application unlikely to be decided upon before 2025.

Local residents’ groups have argued that given the 32m cap will be breached for 2023, the airport should not have applied for an increase to the cap, but rather should have attempted to secure retention planning permission to legitimise that breach.

The 40m application is set for further delays meanwhile after the local authority requested further information from Daa in February while sharply criticising the quality of the data it had been given as part of the bid.