Ryanair Seeks Legal Action Against Dublin Airport Capacity Cap
Ryanair (FR) is pursuing an injunction in the Irish High Court and European courts to prevent the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) from capping seat capacity at Dublin International Airport at 25.2 million seats for the summer 2025 scheduling season. The budget airline has also called for the resignations of Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin, arguing that the cap will eliminate over one million available seats for the upcoming summer season, which runs from March 30 to October 25, 2025, reported ch-aviation.com.
In a strongly-worded statement, Ryanair asserted that the capacity cap would be unnecessary if the transport minister approved all airline slot requests for winter 2024 and summer 2025.
The IAA explained that the cap aligns with a planning condition imposed by An Bord Pleanála, which limits the combined capacity of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport to a maximum of 32 million passengers annually. “In 2007, An Bord Pleanála imposed a planning condition on daa’s development of Terminal 2, which remains in effect and restricts available slot capacity below the physical infrastructure’s capability,” the IAA stated.
The IAA noted that it does not have the authority to alter or revoke planning conditions, as these decisions are managed by planning authorities like Fingal County Council. If the 32 million passenger limit were not applicable for summer 2025, the IAA would announce a significantly higher terminal capacity, thereby accommodating all anticipated growth and new entrants.
According to the IAA, this cap marks the second scheduling season affected by planning conditions limiting passenger capacity at Dublin Airport. For winter 2024, the cap is set at 14.4 million seats, totaling 39.6 million seats across both seasons. The airport operator, daa, indicated that while growth is desired, cutting seat capacity is necessary to comply with the planning condition. CEO Kenny Jacobs highlighted the cap’s economic implications for Ireland, estimating damages at a minimum of EUR 500 million (USD 435 million), potentially rising to EUR 700 million (USD 762 million) when accounting for lost airfares.
However, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary contended that the cap is unlawful, claiming it violates EU rights to freedom of movement and the EU/US Open Skies Agreement. He expressed confidence that this long-standing restriction would be overturned by European courts, citing the Irish authorities’ previous disregard for the 2007 capacity limit when they approved the construction of Dublin Airport’s second runway, which increased the airport’s capacity to 60 million passengers annually.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com