Airport operator Daa has defended the planned increase in charges for airlines using Dublin Airport and said it will support Ryanair’s growth plans, despite the airline warning it may be forced to focus on growth elsewhere in Europe due to costs.
At the same time as unveiling details of its biggest ever summer schedule at Dublin Airport, Ryanair warned it may feel the need to grow routes and locate future aircraft at other European airports, rather than Dublin, in the future, due to rising airport charges.
Ryanair said: “Sadly charges are set to rise by up to 45% at Dublin Airport and that will inevitably mean Ryanair locating future aircraft and route expansion elsewhere in Europe.”
The airline added: “The post-Covid recovery incentives in Ireland clearly demonstrated that Ryanair responds to lower costs with more seat capacity and new routes. That winning formula of lower costs was central to the post-Covid recovery of air traffic in Ireland, which was driven by Ryanair, with more connectivity and tourism growth. Dublin Airport needs to remain competitive versus other European airports, with low cost, efficient facilities and services to support the Irish economy which is highly dependent on low cost air access.”
Ryanair DAC chief executive Eddie Wilson said: “Ryanair will carry over 16 million passenger to/from Dublin this year, delivering more traffic, more jobs, and more low fares than any other airline. However, if we are to continue to grow and to drive recovery and connectivity to Dublin in the long term, the daa must keep airport charges competitive. Projects, like the €200m tunnel that increase costs unnecessarily, are not wanted by airlines and only damage the economy by driving capacity to more competitive European airports.“
However, daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said the aim is to keep Dublin as a low-cost airport, something which will be helped by the latest “modest” cost increase.
Mr Jacobs said: “Ryanair is an incredible success story, and daa wants to support their future growth at Dublin and Cork airports. We take a necessary long-term view on infrastructure and we are progressing our €1.9bn capital investment programme to ensure Dublin Airport continues to grow in a safe and efficient way to support all our current and future airline customers. Aeronautical charges at Dublin Airport are one of the lowest among our peer airports in Europe and we wish to remain a low-cost airport whilst securing a modest increase to ensure a resilient offering for our airline partners and passengers.”
