As air travel continues to surge and airlines voice expectations of big passenger increases on the one hand, airports around the globe on the other hand may find themselves in a conflict zone as local authorities clamp down on those airports and force them to cap numbers to reduce emissions.
While Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) applied for a 25% increase to its annual passenger cap in December 2023, delays and objections to implementing the increase are seeing airlines threatening to abandon their routes to the airport.
Since 2022, when the airport's north runway opened, the airport was capped at no more than 32 million passengers per year as a part of a plan to reduce emissions and noise pollution in the region, reports irishtimes.com.
Now the DAA is lobbying for an increase in the passenger cap from 32 million to 40 million as it now intends to expand its facilities.
The Fingal County Council, responsible for approving the application, has asked the DAA for more information to justify the expansion and any increase in passenger cap.
The Council is asking for peak-hour volumes measured by departures, arrivals and aircraft movement and predictions for traffic growth, and says there is no analysis of how the forecast volumes of US-bound traffic are set to increase. The Council questions whether the DAA can abide by environmental standards requiring fewer emissions and noise pollution if the passenger cap increase is granted, according to irishtimes.com.
The Limerick Chamber of Commerce lodged an objection to Dublin’s expansion, saying that the plan is wrong because there is significant under-utilised capacity at other state-owned airports.
Nonetheless, airlines are threatening to leave Dublin Airport if the passenger cap increase is refused, reports independent.ie.
Airlines for America (A4A) (whose members American Airlines, United and Delta ply the transatlantic routes), claim that if the passenger cap remains, Dublin Airport will fail to accommodate the US-Ireland passenger demand, negatively impacting the Irish economy and US tourism and foreign direct investment.
“The number of passengers travelling between the United States and Ireland grew by 76% between 2013 and 2023, representing an average annual growth rate of 5,8%. A4A is anticipating a similar annual increase in US-Ireland passenger traffic in the coming years," A4A said, addressing the Council's query.
British Airways, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Iberia Express expressed similar concerns to A4A, saying they would also pull out of the airport or severely curb operations there if the cap was not increased, reports simpleflying.com.
Aer Lingus raised concerns about the job security of its 5 000 employees housed at Dublin Airport while Emirates expressed the same concerns about its more than 200 Irish cabin crew employees.
