The lack of certainty over the annual passenger cap at Dublin Airport may lead airlines to focus on other European airports if a decision is delayed.
Fingal County Council is due to make a decision on the DAA airport expansion application next month, which is facing opposition from residents.
Airline executives, including those from Hainan, Emirates, and Westjet and Vueling, part of the IAG Group, have called on Fingal County Council to raise the current passenger cap from 32m to 40m.
Jared Mikoch-Gerke of Westjet said “it will be difficult to continue to add capacity and new routes without long-term growth in sustainable infrastructure at the airport”.
Xeuzheng Wang (Frank Wang) of Hainan told the council that “plans to increase the frequency of its flights between Beijing and Dublin to four flights per week when it resumes in April were postponed due to lack of infrastructure”.
Jeffrey Goodell of Jetblue told the council raising the passenger cap “will enable JetBlue and other airlines to begin or grow our offerings in Dublin, resulting in a more competitive and diverse offering for consumers”.
Emirates said that the restriction “means we are unable to grow our business and may need to look at other destinations or airports as a more viable option”.
London based Pla Pintre of Vueling said “Fingal County Council should consider granting an immediate interim increase in the passenger cap at Dublin Airport pending the consideration of the full planning application. The lack of certainty over the cap makes it challenging to forecast effectively and may compel IAG carriers to focus on other destinations or airports if a decision is delayed.”
