Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary announced that the airline will have 220,000 fewer seats available at Dublin Airport this Christmas, a 20pc reduction, resulting in a 30pc increase in fares compared to last year.
O’Leary criticized the passenger cap, claiming it leads to job losses in Dublin as traffic is diverted to airports in Belfast, Italy, and Poland, and indicated that planned new routes for Dublin are being switched to these locations instead.
He highlighted upcoming challenges stemming from the cap, predicting that passengers will have to travel to Belfast for flights, particularly during busy periods like Christmas and the Six Nations Rugby tournament next spring due to a lack of available slots.
Ryanair is preparing for a legal challenge against the Irish Aviation Authority regarding the removal of landing slots and argues that the Transport Minister has the authority to restore these slots, which could alleviate current restrictions.
Michael O’Leary told the press conference: “We have lawyers working on the judicial review proceedings. Aer Lingus are working on them as well, as are the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). We encourage the IAA to finalise the draft order and then we will all end up in the Four Courts again. It will probably go for appeal and it’s in clear contravention of EU law. The Dutch tried to reduce slots last year at Schiphol, and it was thrown out by the European courts. The Dublin cap will also be thrown out by the European courts. That won’t come in time for the rugby internationals – it might come in time for Cheltenham.”
