The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is set to publish a draft version of the take-off and landing slots it will allocate to airlines for next summer at Dublin Airport, in a move that is likely to spark a fresh dispute around the 32 million passenger cap at the hub.
The regulator has already limited airlines to carrying 14.4 million passengers between October 27th and March 29th next year in an effort to make sure the airport complies with the cap. Planners for Fingal County Council imposed the 32 million limit as a condition of allowing the second runway at the airport in 2022.
The cap has been a constant bone of contention in recent months. Kenny Jacobs, chief executive of DAA, which manages Dublin Airport, said last week the cap was likely to be breached this year despite “extensive efforts” to comply.
The draft version of the slot schedule will be the subject of a consultation between the IAA and stakeholders, including airlines, before it is finalised in the coming weeks.
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The announcement will come a day after Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said his meeting with Minister of State for Transport James Lawless to discuss Dublin Airport’s 32 million passenger cap was not productive. Commenting on the meeting Mr Lawless said there was “a good, robust exchange of views”.
“I would encourage Ryanair to revisit their Shannon, Cork and regional airport schedules, I would urge them to be more creative in their use of the regionals,” he said.
Wednesday’s discussion was part of a series of talks between the Fianna Fáil TD and stakeholders this week on the issue, which airlines and Mr Jacobs have said could result in the cancellation of routes and slots in 2025.
Last week, Mr Lawless indicated that carriers must look at diversifying their route networks to focus more on regional airports as a way of weaning themselves off their dependency on Dublin.
Speaking to RTÉ after the meeting on Wednesday, Mr O’Leary said that suggestion was not feasible. He said that 60 per cent of the traffic “is inbound and it doesn’t want to go to Shannon and Cork, it wants to go to Dublin”.
“The Christmas extras coming in from London and from the UK don’t want to go to Cork and Shannon to go home to Dublin or to places around Dublin,” Mr O’Leary said. “They want to go to Dublin.”
He said the airline might be able to reroute some 50,000 passengers to Belfast over the winter period, “but I think the vast majority of Irish people coming home this Christmas will be travelling on ferries”.
In advance of the meeting, Ryanair sent Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan a draft ministerial letter. If the document is signed by the Minister and sent to the IAA, the airline claims it will “end the crisis” over the passenger cap this winter while Fingal County Council arrives at a decision on whether or not to increase the cap.
DAA, the State-owned operator of Dublin Airport, applied to the council last December to increase the cap to 40 million as part of a wider infrastructure plan, with the local authority requesting further information in February. It is now also preparing to lodge an interim application that only seeks to increase the passenger cap, in the hope that this will hasten its lifting.
But Mr O’Leary said there is an immediate need for extra slots this winter to accommodate demand for flights while the local authority makes a decision.
Speaking on Tuesday in advance of talks to stakeholders, Mr Lawless said he believes the cap is “antiquated”. He pointed to data showing that the percentage of passengers travelling to the airport by bus had grown from 15 per cent in 2006 to 35 per cent this year, arguing that this took millions of car passengers off the road.
He said he was willing to listen to any potential solutions from stakeholders. “I want to be creative and innovative in finding a way through this impasse.”
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