Move is good news for Taoiseach Micheál Martin ahead of St Patrick’s Day White House visit
It could spare any immediate blushes for Taoiseach Micheál Martin when he visits the White House this month for St Patrick’s Day.
The US Department of Transportation confirmed it has extended a deadline to act on a complaint against Ireland and the EU in relation to the cap, by 30 days.
“Intergovernmental discussions to resolve the matter and other significant related activities have occurred and are continuing,” it said, adding that allowing the extension “will serve the public interest in these circumstances”.
Lobby group Airlines for America (A4A) has been pushing the US Department of Transportation to curtail or suspend the rights of Irish carriers to operate between Dublin Airport and US destinations because of the cap. Such a move would almost exclusively impact Aer Lingus, which has an extensive network across the United States.
A4F complained to the Department of Transportation in January that the cap was adversely impacting the economic interests of its members, which include airlines such as Delta and United. Aer Lingus has denied this is the case.
The cap limits passenger numbers to 32 million per annum. Last year, Dublin Airport handled 36.4 million passengers and will handle more this year.
Last month, the government published legislation to remove the cap, which was introduced as a planning condition attached in 2007 to the planning permission for Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2.
While the government hopes the legislation will be enacted by the summer, it could be later in the year before it clears all required legislative hurdles.
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But A4A insists that even a summer enactment of the legislation is too late.
Last month, an advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said he believes that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) should be permitted to restrict aircraft take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport so that its cap isn’t breached. The court will issue a final ruling in coming weeks.
A4A has already warned that if the court agrees with its advocate general, that the decision would destroy “the foundation of aviation slot allocation” and will have sweeping implications across the EU and globally. A4A has called on the Irish government to ensure that legislation to remove the cap at Dublin Airport is removed by the end of next month, before the EU court makes its ruling.
Having legislation in place by the end of April would give the High Court an opportunity to withdraw its request to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the issues it referred to the court in Luxembourg, said A4A.
Aer Lingus has insisted that A4A has exaggerated “the magnitude and scope” of potential future harm to its members if the EU’s highest court upholds the advocate general’s advice.
The US Department of Transportation had an initial 60 days to respond to A4A’ complaint against the Irish government and the EU.
However, it also has the right to extend that period by an initial 30 days.
“We may extend the period for acting for additional periods totalling not more than 30 days if we decide that with additional time it is likely that the complaint can be resolved satisfactorily through negotiations,” it noted.
“We have decided to extend for 30 days the period within which we must act,” it said in relation to A4A’s complaint.
It added: “It is the Department’s view that providing additional time for resolution would be consistent with the IATFCPA [The International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act] and will serve the public interest in these circumstances.”
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