The number of passengers travelling through Dublin Airport could double to more than 70 million a year, a businessman has predicted.
Currently, Dublin Airport is legally required to limit the number of passengers who can travel through every year to 32 million.
The DAA has lodged a planning application with Fingal County Council, urging councillors to increase the cap to 40 million a year.
However, Ulick McEvaddy of D A Terminal 3 Ltd believes if further infrastructure around the airport were developed, the DAA could be even more ambitious.
“The infrastructure of the M1 was the reason for the cap – nothing to do with anything else,” he told The Hard Shoulder.
“The cap was imposed because Fingal County Council and planners decided the infrastructure off the M1 was congested – which it is.
“They knew what the solution was; the solution was that the M2 was a very underutilised motorway.
“Bring a dual carriageway off that… and build Terminal 3 there.”
Ireland’s population is expected to surge in the decades ahead and, according to the CSO, could even hit seven million by 2057.
It all means demand for flights is expected to increase significantly in the future.
“The reason the infrastructure is not there is because they refused to grasp the nettle and build to come off the M2,” Mr McEvaddy said.
“That would solve the problem because we need 70 million passengers going through Dublin Airport in 20-years.
“That was our prediction 15-years ago.”
Economic growth
Mr McEvaddy added that increasing the number of people visiting Ireland is essential for the economy.
“It has to come to pass otherwise we’ll stagnant the Irish economy and the Irish tourist industry,” he said.
“Everything that is dear to us will be stagnated; so, let’s just grasp the nettle and plan for 70 million passengers and put the infrastructure in place to cope with it.”
Opponents of increasing the passenger cap have raised concerns about the impact it would have on Ireland’s carbon emissions.
You can listen back here:
Maim image: An Aer Lingus aircraft at Dublin Airport .Picture by: Colin Keegan.
