Now, Irish authorities have been told no fresh operating restrictions can be implemented at the airport until they inform the Commission of their intentions.
It is understood that means the status quo in terms of the original planning conditions attached to the use of North Runway remain in place.
That means a restriction on night-time flights imposed last year by An Coimisiún Pleanála is shelved until the planning authority can demonstrate that it has explored every possible option for noise abatement at Dublin Airport.
The planning watchdog said it is reviewing the European Commission’s decision and hasn’t yet decided whether or not to reopen the decision process in relation to the night-time use of Dublin Airport.
An Coimisiún Pleanála said the airport would be subject to a noise quota scheme
The European Commission’s decision is certain to further anger residents near the airport, just as the government is trying to push through new legislation to remove the passenger cap.
In 2024, An Coimisiún Pleanála said it intended to cap the number of flights permitted to use Dublin Airport between 11pm and 7am at 13,000. That would have represented a 60pc decrease on the permitted use at the time.
The planning authority subsequently gave permission for North Runway to be used for more hours and more flights. It permitted aircraft to use the runway between 6am and midnight – two extra hours a day.
An Coimisiún Pleanála also said the airport would be subject to a noise quota scheme, which meant certain aircraft would not be able to use the new runway at night.
Last July, the planning watchdog said an annual cap of 35,672 night-time aircraft movements at Dublin Airport “would be appropriate”.
At the time, DAA described the decision as disappointing.
The manner in which the proposed restrictions were arrived at doesn’t follow EU rules
The authority said that number would allow the airport to grow, “while providing an essential safeguard against excessive night-time activity”.
Now the European Commission has said that the manner in which the proposed restrictions were arrived at doesn’t follow EU rules.
“The operating restrictions at Dublin Airport, which Ireland intends to introduce and which it notified on August 8, 2025, do not fully follow the process set out in Regulation (EU) 598/2014, insofar as Ireland has not considered other measures than operating restrictions in accordance with Article 5(3) of that Regulation,” the European Commission noted in its decision.
The Commission determined that An Coimisiún Pleanála concluded that, considering a supplementary noise metric, the annual night-time aircraft movement cap imposed on Dublin Airport, which constitutes an operating restriction, is necessary to achieve the noise abatement objective.
But the Commission said the planning authority did so without any assessment of whether measures from the other three pillars of a balanced approach – making aeroplanes quieter, managing the land around airports in a sustainable way or adapting operational procedures to reduce noise impact on the ground – could have achieved the noise abatement objective.
Under EU rules, that balanced approach is required to determine the most cost-effective measure or combination of measures.
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