It comes as junior transport minister James Lawless warned that the port, which was damaged during Storm Darragh, could be closed until the spring.
Mr Lawless said he was planning for the possibility that the port’s ferry terminals would not reopen on Friday, warning that some passengers or freight would not be accommodated on alternative crossings.
Around 150,000 passengers are hoping to travel on the Holyhead-to-Dublin route in the days leading up to Christmas.
A one-way Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Dublin on December 20 now costs up to €602.75.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “As things stand today, Ryanair’s warning of £500 one-way air fares has now been realised. Prices on some flights from Gatwick and Stansted to Dublin on Friday, December 20, have now reached £500 and prices on flights from London to Dublin across the weekend of December 20 to December 23, are rising rapidly.
“The closure of Holyhead highlights again Ireland’s tenuous transport links and just how readily these can be disrupted by natural events.”
The airline hit out at Transport Minister Eamon Ryan for not lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap, saying it “shows why the new incoming government must legislate quickly to scrap this cap”.
“Ireland is an island on the periphery of Europe. We need multiple ferry routes on/off the island, and we need multiple air routes to/from our major airport at Dublin,” it added.
Mr Lawless said he did not believe it was necessary to lift the passenger cap at Dublin Airport to help with passengers trying to travel before Christmas.
“When I checked on Friday, there were 4,000 additional spaces on airlines under the cap. So if the airlines want to fill those 4,000 seats first and then come back to us to talk about the bigger picture,” Mr Lawless said yesterday.
“Some people will take any opportunity to make a headline, and I tried to be more serious with the issue.”
The minister met ferry companies Stena Line and Irish Ferries yesterday to discuss the ongoing crisis at the port, which is set to cause travel chaos for thousands of passengers before Christmas, as well as for the supply chain.
While it was initially announced that the port would remain closed until December 19, the minister said the Government is planning for that date to “slip” and while they were hoping for the best, he was also preparing for the worst.
“The worst-case would be that Holyhead was closed for some time, perhaps into the new year, into early spring. This is possible,” he said.
He added that he expects an update on the date for reopening within the next 36 hours, as divers and engineers in Holyhead continue to assess the damage caused by Storm Darragh.
“If Holyhead is back in action Thursday and Friday of this week, that would be a huge relief to all the traveling public and all the goods companies,” he said.
“But I think we need to continue to plan on the basis that it won’t be back. Because if you hope for the best and plan for the worst, I think it’s usually a prudent approach in these situations.”
Holyhead port in Anglesey, north Wales. Photo: PA
Mr Lawless said that in relation to cargo, items would be prioritised for processing but “it may not be possible that every single package and every single person will be able to make the journey, certainly with the timescale of the next week”.
Irish Ferries has a number of vessels available to ramp up services, but it needs to find a port to take them.
Stena Line will put a new vessel into service today and an additional vessel, originally due to service Holyhead, will now operate between Dublin and Fishguard. In a statement, Stena Line said the company is providing additional capacity on other routes for both freight and passengers and will operate a free bus transfer from Holyhead to Fishguard.
Irish Ferries has said the company “is currently communicating with impacted customers who were due to sail from Holyhead up to Thursday, December 19”.
A spokesperson at Holyhead port said: “We appreciate there is legitimate public interest in the circumstances surrounding the temporary closure of the ferry berths at Holyhead port.
“It has been established that on Friday December 6 and Saturday, December 7, two separate berthing incidents occurred affecting the Terminal 3 berth used by Irish Ferries, resulting in part of the berth structure collapsing and rendering it unusable.
“Given the scale of the damage, it has been necessary to perform underwater inspections of the structural integrity of the adjacent Terminal 3 and Terminal 5 berths, which could only commence once Storm Darragh had passed. This process is still ongoing, and we will provide an update as soon as we are able to.
“We understand that the closure of the port has had a significant impact on trade, passengers and port customers and we are aware of the disruption this has caused. The safety of all persons involved in the berthing arrangements, including our staff, contractors and of course our customers, is our number-one priority and we will only permit ferry services to recommence once we are sure it is safe to do so.”
