Dublin Airport summer 2025 capacity cap proves unpopular
October 9, 2024
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has confirmed a slot cap for Dublin Airport’s upcoming summer 2025 season, imposing a capacity limit of 25.2 million seats initially proposed in the regulator’s draft decision.
This makes summer 2025 the second scheduling season to take into account the decision of Ireland’s national independent planning body, An Bord Pleanála, which imposed a combined capacity of 32 million passengers a year at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 1 and 2.
“The IAA anticipates that the demand for slots in the Summer 2025 scheduling season will significantly exceed the 25.2m seat cap,” explained the regulator, clarifying that priority (in line with the EU Airport Slot Regulation system), “air carriers who have operated series of slots (five weeks or longer) in the summer 2024 season will be given priority, on initial co-ordination, in relation to those series for summer 2025”.
However, the IAA also predicts that not all of these series will be capable being accommodated within the seat cap, despite the Slot Regulation process’ aim to allocate slots “in a fair and transparent way… by an independent co-ordinator, according to the rules set out… and based on the capacity identified for the airport concerned”.
Winter capacity (running from 26 October 2024 to 29 March 2025) has been set at 14.4 million seats, resulting in a total seat capacity of 39.6 million across the year (lower than the 32 million cap, but which accounts for varying load factors).
The IAA concluded that although it does not possess powers to amend or revoke planning conditions, it noted that the lack of the 32 million capacity cap would “facilitate [the continuation of] all summer 2024 slot series, and anticipated growth and new entrants in the season, including ad hoc slots”.
Founder and executive chairman of Emerald Airlines Pat Kenny declared the passenger cap as “Ireland’s own version of Brexit” and “the greatest act of economic self-harm since the foundation of the State”, urging the Irish government to “acknowledge the significant and far-reaching consequences of this issue”.
Additionally, Kenny recommended the regulator immediately remove the two million plus transfer passengers from being counted within the cap, stating “it was ludicrous that they were included in the first place, as they never leave the terminal nor can they use the road access at Dublin Airport”.
Alongside threats of rising air fares (as demand outstrips supply) and the irrevocable loss of flights to Dublin, Emerald Airlines also noted that the new airport at Dublin Runway (completed and commissioned in 2022 at a $350 million cost to the taxpayer) “is a complete waste without an increase in the cap”. Future implications for this runway – approved by the same Fingal Country Council which declared the 2007 passenger cap – “was clearly known to planners when they granted approval,” continued the airline.
As reported in the Irish Independent, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary believes the cap threatens ad-hoc services such as flights for rugby matches, as well as limiting growth overall. “There are real daily challenges being posed by this,” he stated, adding: “All of this is solvable if [minister for transport for Ireland] Eamon Ryan simply issues a directive to the IAA to issue these additional slots this winter and next summer while the planning process plays itself out”.
