Dublin Airport is operating at maximum capacity and will soon submit infrastructure plans to expand, the DAA has said.
Earlier today, Ryanair announced the cancellation of 17 routes from the airport and accused the airport of having “failed to implement a growth incentive scheme or, indeed lower charges that reward those airlines who invest in lower emission aircraft”.
It also claimed passenger charges are due to rise by 45%.
Speaking to The Hard Shoulder, DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs said Ryanair had got its facts wrong and that the charges were going up by 6%.
“I wish the charges were going up way beyond 6%,” he said.
“But the independent regulator has set the charges and they have a published number and it’s plus 6%, so I don’t know where the 45% number is coming from.”
Full capacity
He said there has been a “great recovery” in Irish aviation since the pandemic and the airport is operating at full capacity.
“We want to grow Dublin Airport from 32 to 40 million [passengers a year],” he said.
“Everyone knows we’re going to be submitting an infrastructure application to Fingal [County Council] in a couple of weeks that will set out how we’re going to do that and include all those projects.
“So, Ryanair know that we want to grow and they know exactly how we’re going to grow in terms of how that looks like in terms of extending piers, stands and gates - because we’ve already added the second runway.
“We’re going to get on with that and they’re going to have the opportunity to grow.”
Planes at Dublin Airport. Photograph: Leon Farrell / RollingNews.ieRyanair is Dublin Airport’s biggest customer and while Mr Jacobs described them as a “great” company, he admitted the two organisations do not have a straightforward relationship.
“Ryanair has a history of always complaining about the DAA and sometimes it gets a bit tiring,” he said.
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Main image: Passengers wait to board an early morning flight at Dublin Airport. Picture by: Peter Titmuss / Alamy Stock Photo
