Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (6 Apr) applied to the High Court for permission to support the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) in its defence against DAA’s appeal which seeks to increase charges at Dublin Airport beyond the 45% increase to 2026 already permitted by CAR in Dec 2022. 

Despite DAA’s failure to effectively manage security processing at Dublin Airport last summer and its gold plated vanity projects such as the unnecessary €200m tunnel under a taxiway, CAR has already authorised an excessive and unfair 45% price hike to Dublin Airport’s already high charges over the next 4 years, even while other EU airports are cutting charges to encourage airlines to recover traffic post-Covid.  The State-owned DAA monopoly, which benefited immensely from taxpayer-sponsored Covid supports, is now seeking to force CAR, through a High Court appeal, to allow an even greater level of price gouging at its monopoly airport in Dublin. 

Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson, said:

“We filed a motion with the High Court today to be allowed to persuade the Court to reject the DAA’s appeal of CAR’s airport charges ruling for the next 4 years. 

Ireland’s air connectivity and tourism are at risk as DAA embarks on a €3bn+ program of wasteful capital expenditure and pressures CAR through the High Court to allow even more rip off charges than the 45% increase already permitted by CAR in Dec 2022 for the next 4 years.”