Lapland Christmas flights are at risk, according to Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary as he slammed the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.
With a passenger cap set to impact the amount of flights coming in and out of Dublin Airport, Ryanair’s Chief Executive has said this will impact those hoping to travel to visit Santa Claus in Lapland.
Additionally, Mr O’Leary said the measures may impact those travelling home to Ireland for the festive season and the Leinster Rugby team.
However, Mr O’Leary confirmed an agreement with Leinster has been made so they can travel to their away matches from Belfast Airport instead of the Irish capital’s airport.
While the past two decades have seen Ryanair offer extra flights during the winter for non-annual services such as flights to Lapland, the budget airline are claiming that the IAA has blocked some of their prospective slots.
Ryanair are claiming that Mr Ryan is able to direct the IAA to allow these extra slots, but it yet to do so. They are now calling on him and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to issue a Direction Letter to the IAA to authorise slots for regular winter extra flights.
‘The Irish Transport Minister has the power to issue a Letter of Direction to the Irish Aviation Authority, telling them to allow these regular winter extras for Leinster Rugby flights, for Santa flights to Lapland at Christmas, and hundreds of Christmas extras to/from Dublin, which enable thousands of Irish families to reunite over the Christmas holidays.
‘It is unacceptable that Ireland’s Transport Minister won’t exercise his legal power to approve these extra flights. If he won’t act (as he has failed to for four years now), we then call on Green Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to take action.
‘Dublin Airport opened a second runway in 2022, taking runway capacity up to 60 million passengers. However, because of Eamon Ryan’s failure to act, Irish airlines cannot add extra flights or effectively use this second runway because of a 17-year-old planning restriction (about road traffic concerns), which Fingal County Council and An Bord Pleanála themselves ignored in 2015 when they granted planning permission for Dublin’s 2nd runway,’ Mr O’Leary said.
The head of the airline went on to say that the ‘repeated failure of the Green Party to deliver the growth promised in their aviation and tourism policies’ has ‘now been exposed’.
‘Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin can and should now issue a Direction Letter to the IAA telling them to allow these extra slots, so that Leinster Rugby can travel to their away matches from Dublin Airport.
‘This is also necessary to allow Irish families to travel to Lapland from Dublin, not Belfast, this Christmas. Irish aviation and tourism is the laughing stock of Europe, where two Green Ministers sit on their hands doing nothing while a 17-year-old concern about road traffic blocks growth of Irish air traffic, tourism and jobs,’ he said.
Mr O’Leary added: ‘The sooner an Election takes place and these failed Green Ministers are replaced, the better it will be for Irish aviation, Irish tourism and Irish economic growth.’
