Passenger cap at Dublin Airport to be abolished, Taoiseach confirms

Legislation due this year will remove the long-criticised passenger limit, easing capacity pressures at Dublin Airport

Airport operator DAA has repeatedly called for the 32m annual passenger cap to be lifted. File picture

The Government will abolish the passenger cap at Dublin Airport through legislation later this year, the Taoiseach has said.

Airport operator DAA has repeatedly called for the 32m annual passenger cap to be lifted, arguing that expanding Dublin Airport to 40m passengers a year is “in line with national aviation policy”.

The cap formed part of the planning permission granted during the construction of Terminal 2, amid concerns about the impact increased traffic would have on roads in north Dublin.

On Wednesday, Airlines for America, the trade body representing US carriers, filed a formal complaint with the United States Department of Transportation, calling on the department to convene a meeting with representatives from Ireland and the European Commission.

The complaint warned that enforcement of the cap could force American carriers to lose slots at Dublin Airport, which it said would be discriminatory.

“The only reason US carriers have not yet lost historic slots at Dublin Airport is because A4A, along with Aer Lingus and Ryanair, are challenging the passenger cap in the Irish High Court and successfully obtained a stay of the passenger cap while the legal challenge continues,” the complaint said.

Ryanair welcomed the move, saying the failure to scrap the limit was “an international embarrassment for Ireland”.

Speaking in Shanghai, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the cap will be removed through legislation brought to Cabinet in September by transport minister Darragh O’Brien.

"Government has made a very clear decision, and the legislation has been drafted right now, and that was approved some time ago by government, so there's no question that this has to be delivered upon parallel with that, at least before we work with the planning authority, because Dublin Airport is very significant in regards to the national economy and connectivity.

"My view, we will deliver on that."

Mr Martin said the origins of the cap “belong to a different era, a different set of circumstances”.

Mr O’Brien has proposed putting legislation in place that will “give the minister for transport the power to remove or amend the limit on annual passenger numbers at Dublin Airport”.

The memo bringing the legislation to Cabinet outlined the “importance of addressing the passenger cap at Dublin Airport and the challenges faced in securing timely permission for planning applications”.

Under its 2007 planning permission, Dublin Airport is limited to handling 32 million passengers a year across both terminals.

However, a group of airlines, including Ryanair and Aer Lingus, challenged the legality of the cap, arguing that it breaches the EU principle of freedom of movement and the EU-US Open Skies Agreement.

The High Court suspended enforcement of the cap and referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union for adjudication.