He claims the Government needs to intervene on the issue, and that passengers will face higher air fares to fly in and out of Dublin while the cap remains in place and demand remains strong.
“Quite honestly, this could only happen in Ireland,” said Mr Walsh. “It’s sad to see it. It’s something people are joking about not. It’s very disappointing [and] frustrating. Hopefully we’ll see some common sense in relation to that.”
Dublin Airport’s annual passenger traffic is capped at 32 million under a planning condition attached in 2007 to the construction of Terminal 2.
“Outside of Ireland, it’s become a joke,” Mr Walsh said. “I speak to international airlines who want to serve the Irish market, they want to serve it through Dublin. They’re not going to fly to Shannon and Cork – they’re absolutely crystal clear about that.”
“For them, Dublin is serving the Irish market, and they can’t, because we have this restriction.”
Mr Walsh, who is also the former CEO of airline group IAG and now the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), was speaking on Wednesday at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.
He pointed out that there is no runway or terminal capacity problem at Dublin Airport. “It’s constrained by the planning limitation that was introduced back in 2007 with the development of T2. So, the restriction of 32 million passengers at Dublin Airport is completely artificial in terms of the infrastructure that’s available,” he said.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has moved to limit the amount of passengers that will be able to use Dublin Airport this winter and next summer so that the cap is not breached. However, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Airlines for America – a lobby group that represents major US carriers – have taken High Court actions to challenge those IAA decisions. The cases are due to be heard in December.
“The government will have to intervene if we’re to get a long-term solution to the issue at Dublin Airport,” said Mr Walsh, who argued that legal action is often just a “temporary solution” to such problems.
“We do need a long-term solution at Dublin Airport , [or] at least clarity around what the government wants to do with capacity at Dublin Airport,” he added.
Mr Walsh echoed warnings from the DAA and Ryanair that air fares out of Dublin will increase while the cap remains in place. “Capacity is being artificially constrained,” he said. “Demand continues to be strong. Supply and demand will be a big factor in the Irish market and that will lead to an increase in fares, simply because there will be more demand for the seats that are available in the market.”
He thinks it would be a “great idea” to have an infrastructure minister in the next cabinet. “Infrastructure is going to be critical to continuing to develop the economy in Ireland,” he pointed out.
