Taoiseach: Airlines will pull out of Ireland if Dublin Airport passenger cap not lifted

International airlines will simply pull out of Ireland and will choose other regional airports if the passenger cap at Dublin is not lifted, the Taoiseach has warned.

International airlines will simply pull out of Ireland and will choose other regional airports if the passenger cap at Dublin is not lifted, the Taoiseach has warned.

Strongly calling for an increase in the numbers allowed through Dublin Airport each year, Leo Varadkar said keeping passenger numbers at the current limit would see routes move to other countries.

Proposals to lift the current cap of 32 million passengers has caused disagreement at Cabinet level, with members of the Green Party strongly against this.

However, launching a new Jet Blue route between Dublin and Boston, Mr Varadkar said he wants the cap to increase.

"In an ideal world, you would redistribute traffic from Dublin to regional airports, all of which are doing quite well at the moment. They're seeing an increase in traffic," he said. 

"But in the real world airlines say to us, particularly when it comes to intercontinental routes and transatlantic routes, they'll just send their planes to other countries, not other airports in Ireland." 

Mr Varadkar said we have to listen to that "and it is part of the planning process. But certainly I believe that the cap should be increased".

Mr Varadkar added: "We're an island nation, it's the main way people can get on and off our island.

He said allowing more passengers to arrive through Dublin Airport would not only improve our connectivity for business and people visiting friends and relatives but would help to bring air fares down.

He said: "The terminals have capacity for 40 million [people], at least based on the information I've been given. It's been more a case of how you manage the traffic in and around the airport, staff getting to from the airport, passengers getting to and from the airport.

"So it is about buses, it is about taking taxis, ultimately although not in the near future, it's about the Metro too. So it is incumbent on the Daa to come forward with its plans to show how to manage the terminals, show how to manage access to and from the airport and also show how to manage noise concerns," said Mr Varadkar.

He recognised that residents, including people living in his own constituency, have "genuine concerns" around noise and flights taking off of landing late at night, but he said that is the reason why there is a planning process in place.