IRISH air fares are likely to hit “record levels” this Christmas, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has warned, as Dublin Airport announced it’s likely to breach its 32 million annual passenger cap by the end of the year.
It is unclear what penalty will be imposed upon the airport, which is on course to exceed the cap by one million flyers.
Mr O’Leary said it is yet more evidence that the passenger cap needs to be increased.
The budget airline boss said: “Airlines – including Ryanair and some of the American airlines – are diverting aircraft away from Dublin. Both this Christmas and next summer – it’s because we can’t get any additional slots.”
The airport has lodged a planning application with Fingal County Council, asking for the cap to be increased from 32 million to 40 million.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said he would “not intervene in what is a legal process” for the Council but Mr O’Leary described the cap as “limiting growth” in the Irish economy.
He added: “We’re calling on Simon Harris and Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste – take action where the Transport Minister won’t.
“We have been denied the extra slots we traditionally get every Christmas. We have now put 50,000 extra seats from London into Belfast – we’re diverting Dublin seats up to Belfast this Christmas because none of us are being allocated the additional slots.”
He predicted that this will lead to a surge in demand for flights from London to Dublin, pushing prices to “record levels” this year.
He said: “I think the only thing that will really act as a spur is when the crisis blows up this Christmas when the airlines offer 250,000 less seats to Dublin this Christmas.”
The DAA announced today that a total of 3.8 million sun seekers, sport fans, Olympians and more, travelled through Dublin and Cork airports in August.
A massive 3.46 million passengers went through the terminal doors of Dublin Airport, making the month the busiest month ever in it’s 84-year history.
Between May and August, over 10 million passengers passed through, bringing the total number to 22.7 million passengers so far in 2024.
Some airlines operating at Dublin have also decided to reduce the scale of their operations because of the uncertainty with the 32 million terminals passenger cap.
Cork Airport welcomed a record 340,705 passengers in August, which represented a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
