The current cap, which was originally imposed as a planning condition in 2007 related to the construction of Terminal 2, is 32 million.
The submission being made to Fingal County Council today is a standalone application that involves no other elements such as capital investment.
The DAA already has a major planning application from the council that seeks to raise the passenger cap to 40 million a year. That application includes €2.4bn worth of infrastructure upgrades that also have to be considered by council officials.
The DAA confirmed it is submitting the ‘no-build’ application today. “As the application does not seek permission to build any infrastructure, DAA hopes that it can move swiftly through the planning system and provide a short-term solution to the terminal-cap impasse impacting Ireland’s connectivity, tourism and economy,” it said.
Political parties including Fianna Fail pledged during the election campaign that they would deal with the issue of the cap, and seek to remove it.
“There is widespread agreement that a pragmatic and constructive approach is needed to resolve this critical national issue impacting Ireland’s main transport hub. Dublin Airport already has the capacity to comfortably manage 36 million passengers a year,” said DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs.
“Our ‘no build’ operational application provides a sensible short-term solution while we wait for approval for DAA’s bigger infrastructure application submitted a year ago this week.”
The Irish Aviation Authority has sought to limit the number of take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport next summer in an effort to ensure the gateway doesn’t breach its 32 million passenger cap.
However, that has been challenged by Aer Lingus, Ryanair and other carriers. A number of points of European law have now been referred by the High Court to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. In the meantime a stay has been put on the IAA decision to limit the slots for next summer.
“We call on all parties to work together to solve this issue for Ireland,” said Mr Jacobs. “We welcome all efforts to promote more joined-up thinking in both the planning system and strategic infrastructure development so our island nation can thrive.”
Under its infrastructure application submitted last year, the DAA has applied for a 15-year permission to build a suite of 11 distinct infrastructure projects at Dublin Airport and the surrounding area, and to increase the passenger capacity to 40 million passengers a year.
The infrastructure projects include the expansion of the north and south aprons to accommodate extra aircraft and the expansion of the check-in and passenger services area within Terminal 1, which includes the relocation of the existing security area. There are also three infrastructure projects on the airfield, and five relating to airport access and parking.
The documentation submitted in December last year by the DAA ran to over 7,000 pages and almost 700 drawings. Last month, Fingal County Council received a further 12,000 pages and 200 drawings from the agency following a request for additional information.
