Irish Aviation Authority will add more take-off and landing places despite passenger cap
Dublin Airport. Photo: Getty
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has confirmed that it won’t be restricting capacity at Dublin Airport next summer despite the passenger cap and intends to add more take-off and landing slots to boost competition.
The IAA previously attempted to put a lid on traffic at the airport to ensure it adhered to the cap, which limits annual passenger numbers to 32 million.
That’s due to a planning condition introduced in 2007 that was attached to the construction of Terminal 2.
However, this year Dublin Airport will handle about 36.3 million passengers, following decisions by the High Court that effectively paused the cap while certain matters related to aircraft take-off and landing slot allocations are being examined by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It is not likely to deliver a ruling on those matters until summer next year.
Just under 14.4 million seats were set to be made available by carriers for last winter as the Irish Aviation Authority decided to limit numbers to ensure Dublin Airport adhered to its annual 32 million passenger cap.
It later tried to impose a cap for summer 2025, which would restrict slots to ensure the passenger numbers didn’t exceed 25.2 million.
While the winter cap was challenged in the High Court by airlines, it went ahead. However, the High Court suspended the planned 2025 summer cap on take-off and landing slots, pending referral to the ECJ of relevant matters.
The IAA said on Thursday that it will support “increased competition” next summer at Dublin Airport by allowing for up to 25 additional daily take-off and landing slots, “but without degrading the current service quality”.
“In accordance with the order of the High Court that, pending the determination of associated legal proceedings, the IAA is not to take account of certain planning conditions which limit the combined capacity of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to 32 million annual passengers, we do not propose to implement any seat cap coordination parameter for summer 2026,” it added as it released its draft capacity plan for summer 2026.
Aer Lingus has followed Ryanair in seeking permission from the High Court for a judicial review of a decision by the planning watchdog to impose a cap on the number of night-time flights it will permit at Dublin Airport.
“An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to introduce an annual cap on the number of night flights at a level of 35,672 movements undermines the modern noise quota system proposed by the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority, and which balances the interests of residents and the airport,” said Aer Lingus in a statement.
source