The Irish Government has defended its position against a complaint from US airline lobby group Airlines for America that the Dublin Airport passenger cap breaches the EU-US Open Skies Agreement.
IN an internal memo, Ethna Brogan director general for civil aviation at the Department of Transport stated the cap is not government policy. The 32m annual passenger limit stems from a 2007 planning condition for Terminal 2 construction.
The Department of Transport is progressing legislation to remove the cap while the daa has submitted a planning application to raise it to 40m passengers alongside infrastructure projects. The Irish Aviation Authority previously attempted to limit slots to enforce the cap but the decision faces High Court challenge and referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Aer Lingus expects the bill heads to Cabinet soon with potential €130m revenue loss avoided if restrictions are lifted.
Ethna Brogan shared I wish to assure you that it is not government policy to ‘cap’ passenger traffic at Dublin Airport. I cannot stress enough the level of commitment this Government has to resolving this issue.
