A High Court judge has paused Dublin Airport’s 25.2 million passenger cap for summer 2025 following airline appeals.
Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Airlines for America (A4A), a trade association for US airlines, claimed the cap would threaten their “use them or lose them” take-off and landing slots.
Lawyers for the carriers argued the caps breached airlines’ right under EU law to “historic slots” based on previous use. Airlines must use these slots 80% of the time within a season to retain them the next year.
Ryanair claimed that losing its Dublin Airport slots would jeopardise corresponding slots at 67 European airports. Aer Lingus told courts that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) had only considered planning conditions from 2007 for the first time in its winter 2024/2025 passenger capacity assessment, which was unwarranted. A4A argued that the caps violated the US-EU Open Skies agreement.
Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell’s ruling on Monday came days before airlines’ summer slots are due to be allocated. His pause will apply until EU Courts rule on the passenger cap.
The judge explained that upholding the cap would have “immediate, serious consequences”. He added:
Those consequences extend beyond the immediate serious effects on the applicants, but include serious disruption for the public and potential harmful effects for the broader economy.
In a statement, Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary blamed the legal challenge on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan’s inaction, commenting:
It is deeply regrettable that the airlines had to take legal action to stay the idiotic cap at Dublin Airport solely because Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, wouldn’t do his job and issue a letter to the IAA.
The dispute follows a challenging summer for Ryanair, which reported an 18% fall in H1 after-tax profit compared to last year. The airline recently cut traffic estimates due to delays in Boeing’s delivery.
Ryanair, Aer Lingus and airport operator data will wait until December for a separate verdict on the IAA’s decision to limit winter passengers to 14.4 million from now until March 2025.
Why was a passenger cap imposed?
Fingal County Council implemented the 32 million passenger cap in 2007 as a condition of the construction of Dublin Airport’s second terminal. The cap aimed to limit disruption to roads around the airport.
The IAA’s 2024/2025 passenger capacity limits were based on the terminal planning constraints alongside technical, operational and environmental considerations. These include runway and airspace capacity, aircraft stand availability and passenger check-in and security processes.
The IAA stated:
The role of the IAA does not encompass any power to amend or revoke planning conditions, or any decision to enforce or not enforce conditions, which are all matters to be determined by the planning authorities, such as Fingal County Council. In that regard, it is also not for the IAA to assess the merits or otherwise of the condition itself.
In response to Monday’s ruling, the IAA added:
the alleged harm identified by the airlines flows from the planning conditions rather than from the IAA taking account of those conditions.
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