Ryanair has reiterated its calls for the Government to scrap the 32 million passenger a year cap at Dublin Airport, on the back of last week’s CSO figures showing inbound tourism continued to fall in February.
The CSO numbers showed 30%+ drops in visitor numbers (with 304,300 inbound visitors recorded in February), visitor spend and bednights; with the main reason for anyone visiting to see family or friends, as opposed to visit the country on a pure holiday.
In a statement, Ryanair said: “Consulting with ‘stakeholders’ is not action. It’s just more dither and delay. Ireland’s largest industry needs urgent action from the Government, to enable it to grow. Dublin Airport has built a second runway, yet the airlines can’t use it because of an 18-year-old planning restriction over outdated concerns about road traffic around Dublin Airport. It is time for Micheál Martin’s new Government to implement its action programme and scrap the cap at Dublin Airport.”
Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said: “It is time for action as our biggest industry, tourism continues to slump. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were successful in the last election on a programme promise to scrap the Dublin Airport cap. The Programme for Government promises to scrap this outdated cap. Yet, two months into the new Government, as the summer season is about to kick off, no action has been taken.
“We call, today, on Micheál Martin and his Government to use their legal power to write to the IAA and instruct them to approve all new slot applications from airlines who wish to deliver growth and/also pass urgent legislation removing Dublin Airport from the dead hand of Fingal County Council and its woefully slow and failing planning process.
“Ireland’s Tourism industry is suffering a slump, and the only way out of this is slump is to scrap the cap at Dublin Airport and allow Irish airlines like Ryanair to deliver the growth, which Dublin’s second runway now facilitates. This Government was elected to ‘scrap the cap’ not waste more months/years dithering on consultations with useless “Stakeholders” on what is our national gateway airport.”
