Ryanair, Ireland’s no.1 airline, today (Thurs, 17 July) rejected An Coimisiúin Pleanála’s idiotic decision to impose a new traffic cap at Dublin Airport, this time targeting night-time and early morning flights. An Coimisiúin Pleanála’s claim that this “cap would allow for airport growth” is false. An Coimisiúin Pleanála is imposing a new traffic cap of 35,672 night movements p.a. when that capacity will likely be reached this year. This will further block investment in based aircraft activity, which typically start before 7:00am, and early morning transatlantic arrivals that land between 5:00 and 7:00am. This new cap will grind both short-haul and incoming early-morning long-haul aircraft to a halt as growth in these two critical windows will be maxed out by this new cap.

Dublin Airport is already being constrained by an outdated planning restriction that the current Govt (who have a 20 seat majority) have done nothing to remove, despite their commitment to abolish it as part of the Programme for Government. Without any progress on removing the first cap, we now have the ridiculous situation where another Govt agency has introduced yet another cap on Dublin Airport’s passenger growth.  

The North Runway was designed to support Dublin Airport’s growth to 60m passengers p.a., but this new cap of 35,672 night movements p.a. by An Coimisiúin Pleanála means that Dublin Airport cannot grow beyond its current traffic levels (already expected to reach c.35,000 night movements this year). This decision takes no account of aircraft design innovation, which in the case of Ryanair’s newest aircraft, cuts noise emissions by up to 50%. What’s the point of investing in quieter aircraft if a blunt force cap on movements is imposed?

Dublin Airport – as the major economic gateway to Ireland – is now subject to 2 Government-imposed traffic caps. As a vital part of national infrastructure Dublin Airport should be taken out of the local planning process and instead be planned centrally as vital national infrastructure to support economic growth.

Ryanair calls on Minister Darragh O’Brien and the Irish Govt to intervene and immediately abolish both passenger caps, which will damage jobs, tourism, and economic growth.