Dublin airport to be redesignated as national infrastructure under planning laws

Darragh O’Brien Dublin Airport passenger cap, Airlines for Europe winter schedules, Dublin Airport capacity restrictions, Irish Aviation Authority 2024-2025, IAA passenger cap compliance, Dublin Airport High Court decision, summer 2025 passenger limit, Aer Lingus winter planning 2025-2026, Ryanair expected IAA cap suspension, government commitment lift passenger cap, Dublin Airport economic impact, transport ministers meeting stakeholders. — Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien is pursuing legislation to remove the Dublin Airport passenger cap by designating the airport as national infrastructure under planning laws, a status it held until 2019. This approach could bypass the standard planning process and related court cases that extend to 2028.

Minister O’Brien consulted Attorney General Rossa Fanning after taking office in January on resolving the issue through legislation.

O’Brien plans to submit a memo to Cabinet in the first week of October outlining options for the general scheme and heads of bill. Drafting of the legislation follows Cabinet approval with implementation targeted for the end of 2026.

The daa welcomes the move and engages with Fingal County Council on its planning application submitted last year. Fingal County Council issued a request for further information on 1 April with the daa response due by 7 January 2026.

The daa seeks capacity for up to 60 million passengers over coming decades through added infrastructure. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary calls for the bill to pass before December to avoid delays. Children’s Rights over Flights opposes the removal and describes the push as an attempt to increase emissions.

O’Brien states that physical infrastructure around the airport has changed since 2007 with further improvements planned. Growth at the airport carries direct economic impacts if restricted. The daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs notes that the cap creates uncertainty for airlines and the economy. Jacobs commits to community engagement for support on expansions.

O’Brien insists that any growth considers concerns of local residents opposed to lifting restrictions. The legislation advances amid calls for balance between economic needs and environmental effects.

The Programme for Government commits to lifting the cap with stakeholders to enable sustainable growth. Dublin Airport operates under a 32 million passenger annual cap set as a condition of the 2007 planning permission for Terminal 2. The limit aims to control traffic pressure on local road infrastructure. Passenger numbers exceed the cap this year with projections of 35.6 million and 37 million for next year. The cap remains suspended amid litigation by airlines against An Bord Pleanála.

Darragh O’Brien recently shared “Dublin Airport is a critical piece of national infrastructure. In the Programme for Government, we were very clear and we said that we would work with stakeholders to remove the airport cap and allow the airport to grow sustainably.”

Kenny Jacobs recently shared “We’ll keep working with stakeholders to progress our planning applications with Fingal County Council as we need to add infrastructure to cope with demand and maintain our excellent standards and we will continue to actively engage with the local community as we need their support.”