US lobby group insists that despite Government move today on cap, it must still be removed by next week
Airlines for America (A4A), which represents carriers including Delta and United, has said the legislative solution has now been “anticipated, “expected,” and “intended,” for 14 months.
“We appreciate the Irish Government’s commitment, but until the legislation materialises, the commitments should be viewed only as future intentions,” the lobby group has told the US Department of Transportation.
“US carriers cannot rely on speculative statements by a government who has failed to act in over a year,” A4A stated in a submission to the US Department of Transportation.
Aer Lingus has engaged in an “intensive campaign” to have the passenger cap removed. Photo: John Mulligan
“Just because the Irish Government has expressed its opposition to the passenger cap, this does not detract from the imminent and permanent damage facing US carriers if they lose their rights to historic slots at Dublin Airport,” A4A said.
A4A has claimed that because of the cap, Ireland is in breach of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement – an argument that’s been rejected by the Government. A4A has already urged the US government to curtail or suspend flights by Irish carriers from Ireland to the United States until the Dublin Airport passenger cap is removed. The impact of that would be felt almost exclusively by Aer Lingus.
An advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union will next Thursday publish an opinion in relation to legal action that’s been taken in Ireland by Aer Lingus and Ryanair to challenge efforts by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to enforce the cap. That opinion will be followed by a ruling some months later.
We are sceptical of claims that its efforts have delivered tangible results
The cap, introduced in 2007 as a planning condition attached to the construction of Dublin Airport’s T2, limits the annual number of passengers at the gateway to 32 million.
While Aer Lingus has insisted its “intensive campaign” to persuade the government to remove the cap has yielded “tangible results”, A4A says the key issue is that the cap remains in place.
“While A4A appreciates Aer Lingus’ efforts to address this issue with the Irish Government, we are sceptical of claims that its efforts have ‘delivered tangible results’,” A4A said in its latest submission to the US government.
It added: “Aer Lingus may view future promises as ‘tangible’ but A4A does not. The introduction and approval of legislation removing the passenger cap from Dublin Airport would be a tangible result. Everything else is empty words.”
Fingal County Council has also issued a fresh infringement notice to the DAA for breaching the 32 million annual passenger cap at Dublin Airport in 2025.
Last year, Dublin Airport handled 36.4 million passengers. An infringement notice served on the DAA in the middle of last year gave the airports operator two years to be in compliance with the planning condition related to the cap.
The DAA has a planning application with Fingal County Council that aims to raise the cap to 40 million alongside infrastructure development at the gateway. While a decision is expected next year on that application, legislation may have been enacted prior to that to remove the cap.
A4A has also told the US Department of Transportation that Aer Lingus and the Irish Department of Transport “erroneously claim” that the passenger cap doesn’t have any implications in relation to the EU-US Open Skies Agreement.
A4A has said the agreement is “absolutely impacted”.
“We urge the department to uphold its own enforcement powers under the US-EU ATA (Air Transport Agreement) and use the tools at its disposal under IATFCPA (The International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act) to resolve the Irish Government’s unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, and anticompetitive treatment of US carriers at Dublin Airport,” the lobby group urged.
It added: “By attempting to convince the department that the US-EU ATA is not is not at issue, the Irish Department of Transport and Aer Lingus attempt to convince the department to voluntarily restrict its enforcement power under the US-EU ATA and therefore weaken itself on the global stage. The department should not acquiesce.”
Given the delayed submission to the docket, A4A was prejudiced
The lobby group has also said that because Ireland’s Department of Transport did not reply to the complaint made by the A4A to the US Department of Transportation in the correct manner, that it should be discounted.
“We acknowledge the Irish Department of Transport’s letter and respond in this reply,” A4A said. “However, given the delayed submission to the docket, A4A was prejudiced and only had two business days to reply.”
Regardless, A4A said it is hopeful of a resolution to the cap.
“We believe a resolution is possible and starts with an immediate Joint Committee meeting, or a meeting that is substantively equivalent, followed by swift action by the Irish Government to immediately implement legislation removing the passenger cap at Dublin Airport prior to the issuance of the Court of Justice of the European Union Advocate General’s opinion on February 12, 2026,” it said.
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