Cap on Dublin Airport must be lifted

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, has repeated its call for the 32 million passenger cap at Dublin Airport to be lifted as a matter of urgency. Dublin Chamber CEO, Mary Rose Burke said, “A total of 3.46 million passengers went through Dublin Airport, making this August the busiest month on in its history, but it is clear that artificial brakes have been put on the Airport’s growth”. 

“Dublin Airport is Ireland’s busiest airport by some margin and if the trends seen this August were seen everyday it would be a 40 million passenger facility. Ireland as an open island economy is extremely dependent on air connectivity to allow us to thrive in a global economy. To place a cap on the airport due to years old planning conditions which are now obsolete is nonsensical”. 

“By maintaining the cap, Dublin will lose routes to key investment, trade and tourism markets and face a reduced service to other important destinations. These routes will be lost to the country overall and cause considerable damage to Ireland’s ability to attract and retain foreign direct investment. Ireland needs an airport that provides vital connectivity to key markets and even the possibility of an arbitrary cap on numbers is threatening future growth. 

Ms Burke concluded, “With the IAA deciding on slot reduction for the winter period we would urge Fingal County Council to approve without delay Daa’s Infrastructure Application which proposes to increase the cap to 40 million passengers. Ireland deserves an airport that can compete with other international airports and continue to support Ireland’s interconnected global economy”. 

For further information please contact:

Stephen Browne | Head of Public Affairs | Dublin Chamber | stephen@dublinchamber.ie