DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs saiys there is a conflict between Irish and European laws regarding passenger limits at Dublin Airport, stating that compliance with one set of laws results in breaching the other.
He pointed out that Irish planning laws necessitate reductions in passenger numbers, while airlines argue that such reductions are not feasible under EU law.
Jacobs anticipates that the High Court will have to address this complex legal issue, potentially escalating it to the European Court of Justice for clarification.
He expressed optimism that if the passenger cap issue is brought before the ECJ, a resolution could be reached within a few months.
In an interview with Travel Extra Mr Jacobs said: “I think this gets fixed in two ways: one, planning moving faster and us getting an application granted quicker. The second way is legally, that a European court decides that the cap at Dublin Airport is void because it goes against the grain on European regulation on slots.
I could see American carriers challenging the existence of the cap and saying that it’s anti-competitive and that EU regulation on slots should take precedence over domestic planning. The cap at Shiphol Amsterdam existed for different reasons, but I could see the cap at Dublin being challenged with the same logic because what happened was the US Department of Trade said ultimately you can’t cut American carriers by 5pc, and if you do that, we will cut Dutch carriers by 5pc in America. I could see the same thing playing out.”
US response to the Schiphol restrictions
The US Department of Transport issued the following statement on November 2nd, 2023 in response to the Schiphol restrictions
49 U.S.C. 41310 provides that, upon complaint or on our own initiative, when the Department determines that an activity of a foreign country is an unjustifiable or unreasonable discriminatory, predatory, or anticompetitive practice against an air carrier, or imposes an unjustifiable or unreasonable restriction on the access of a U.S. carrier to foreign markets, the Department may take such action as it deems to be in the public interest to eliminate such activity.
The Department finds that, because the Netherlands has failed to follow the Balanced Approach, the Phase 1 capacity reduction measures being undertaken at AMS constitute unjustifiable and unreasonable activities under IATFCPA, and are in violation of the U.S.- EU Air Transport Agreement.
