Ryanair, Ireland’s No.1 airline, today (Tue, 9 Sept) applied for a High Court judicial review to challenge An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) decision to impose an illegal second, (movements) cap at Dublin Airport. 

This unlawful cap which artificially limits night movements, will block early morning (pre 7am) arrivals which are vital for transatlantic landings between 05:00 and 07:00, and will delay much-needed investment and growth at Dublin Airport. By cutting off these critical early morning (low noise) arrivals, ACP will strangle transatlantic traffic, damage growth and short-haul connectivity at Ireland’s main gateway airport. 

Inexplicably, ACP fails to explain why it overruled the specialist airport noise regulator, ANCA (Aircraft Noise Competent Authority), who had already rejected a movement cap in favour of a night time noise quota system (which operates at most EU airports) which would allow Dublin Airport to grow through use of quieter, more modern aircraft such as Ryanair’s new B737 aircraft, which cuts CO2 emissions by 16% and noise by 40%, while carrying 4% more passengers. Instead, ACP’s blunt (and unlawful) movement cap reduces consumer choice, damages connectivity, and punishes investment, while doing nothing to encourage airlines who operate newer, quieter aircraft. 

This latest illegal cap shows why planning decisions on key national infrastructure like Dublin Airport must be taken out of the incompetent hands of the Bord Pleanála quangos, and instead be made by the democratically elected Govt of the day. Sadly, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien has continued to sit on his hands doing nothing to scrap the 2007 (road traffic) cap, despite the Jan Programme for Government pledging to abolish it “as soon as possible”. Now there is a second passenger cap at Dublin Airport damaging the growth of Irish tourism and jobs, while this “do nothing” Govt sits around “pondering options” as its preferred alternative to action.  

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: 

“These two artificial caps at Dublin Airport are unlawful. They are in breach the EU’s fundamental right to ‘freedom of movement’ and they are also in breach of the EU – US ‘open skies’ flight agreement. Any competent Govt would by now have already scrapped the original (2007) 32m traffic cap at Dublin Airport, given that the Jan 2025 Govt program, promises to do so “as soon as possible”. Not alone has Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien done nothing for 9 months, but now the incompetent bureaucrats at An Coimisiún Pleanála have imposed a 2^nd illegal cap which limits early morning arrivals between 5am to 7am, when most transatlantic flights arrive in Dublin. This illegal movement cap will damage existing transatlantic flights and shut off long haul traffic growth in Dublin, at a time when visitor numbers to Ireland are declining.    

Ryanair has no choice but to seek a judicial review of this latest unlawful planning stupidity and we have every confidence that this 2^nd illegal cap will be overturned by the Courts, especially while our “do nothing” Transport Minister sits on his hands “pondering his options” during 9 months of useless inactivity.”