A bumper September of travel has edged Dublin Airport nearer to breaching its passenger cap this year.
A record 3.08m travellers used the two terminals during the month, a 4% increase on the same month last year, operator daa said.
That brings to 25.8m the total number of passengers who have passed through the facility so far this year, up 5.3% on the same period of 2023.
Daa said it still expects that the cap of 32m passengers a year, put in place as part of planning permission for the second terminal in 2007, will be breached this year by up to 1m.
But it warned that while this month is set to be busy also, after that the Autumn will be more subdued as certain airlines have shrunk their operations at the airport due to the unpredictable situation around the cap.
“daa has long been vocal about the potential negative impacts of the cap, warning it could lead to significant job losses and harm Ireland’s economy and international reputation,” said Kenny Jacobs, daa chief executive.
“Regrettably, our predictions are becoming a reality. Ryanair is cutting routes, Aer Lingus is warning of job losses, while Emerald is likely reducing its fleet and may cut its Dublin to Donegal route, all of which leads to economic harm and reduced connectivity for Ireland.”
Daa, airlines and business organisations have been piling pressure on the Government to intervene to have the cap lifted so that growth at the airport can resume.
However, a number of Government ministers and the Taoiseach have insisted that it cannot legally meddle in the planning process.
Dublin Airport has submitted an application for planning permission to build new infrastructure which would enable the cap to be increased to 40m a year, but a final decision on that is expected to take years.
Daa has said a recent separate draft decision by An Bord Pleanála in relation to night time flights at the airport had led to complexities and additional considerations that had complicated its efforts to provide Fingal County Council with further information it requires to progress the infrastructure application.
“Things are going to get worse before they get better,” warned Mr Jacobs.
“The coming months will see the passenger cap starting to bite more firmly as airlines finalise their summer 2025 schedules with fewer slots available and reduced capacity, despite overwhelming demand from passengers to fly in and out of Dublin Airport.”
“Meanwhile airports across Europe are working hard to get and keep the flights Dublin is losing. And daa is obliged to continue to do its utmost to comply with the cap, despite not controlling the slot process.”
But local residents and environmentalists have expressed opposition to any increase in the cap, warning it would lead to more emissions, noise and traffic congestion.
