Politicians must axe the 32-million-a-year limit on passengers at Dublin Airport before an autumn ruling by regulators that could hit summer 2027 travel, Aer Lingus will warn the Government.
A European Union court ruling due in coming months could prompt the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to curb airline capacity at the airport in summer 2027 to comply with the so-called passenger cap.
Aer Lingus is seeking a meeting with Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to stress that recent developments and looming legal deadlines mean the limit must be lifted long before the Government’s target of the end of this year.
The carrier believes it is necessary to “immediately accelerate the enactment and commencement of the legislation which will enable the removal of the passenger cap”, chief executive Lynne Embleton told the Minister in a letter seeking a meeting.
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Aer Lingus fears the Oireachtas will not pass legislation needed to abolish the cap before the IAA allocates take-off and landing slots at the airport for summer 2027 in October, industry figures say.
A failure to pass the legislation before it does so could oblige the authority to limit airlines’ seat numbers at the airport next year in line with the impending Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruling, forcing them to cut flights.
Industry sources agree that a limit on flight numbers risks higher air fares. “Constrained airports are often more expensive,” one said on Thursday.
Passenger numbers at Dublin are likely to exceed 37 million this year, forcing airlines to cut back radically to comply if the IAA acts to enforce the 32 million cap.
EU advocate general Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona last week said the IAA could take the passenger limit into account when setting parameters for slot allocation at Dublin.
His opinion, on issues raised by airlines in an Irish High Court case, is not binding, but most observers believe the ECJ’s final decision on the same issue will follow his view. That, in turn, could oblige the High Court to lift an order preventing the IAA from taking the passenger limit into account when deciding on slot allocation.
Slot allocation is the only means of enforcing the cap, imposed by planners in 2007 as a condition of allowing Dublin build its second terminal, to prevent traffic jams on the nearby M50 motorway.
The Minister regards the passage of the Dublin Airport Bill, 2026, through the Oireachtas as “an absolute priority”, a statement stressed. The Bill will allow him make an order revoking or amending the cap and barring the introduction of any future limits.
O’Brien is keen to have the law passed by this summer but is conscious of the need to ensure that any effort to lift the limit can withstand potential legal challenges, department sources say.
“The Minister has already engaged with, and will continue to engage with, key important stakeholders and airlines, such as Aer Lingus,” added the statement.
Meanwhile, the US department of transportation could rule next month on a complaint by industry body Airlines for America that the passenger cap discriminates against its members.
Aer Lingus argues that US airlines face no constraints in Dublin Airport at the moment. They increased capacity there by 13 per cent last summer.
