Ryanair has switched 3 aircraft, 16 new routes, and over 200 jobs to Southern Italy.
The airline said these aircraft would have gone to Dublin but have been blocked by the “artificial traffic cap” at the capital’s airport.
As a result of the under review 32 million passenger per year cap “Ireland is now closed for business due to this artificial traffic cap and Ireland is losing traffic and tourism growth to other EU airports under a Green Transport Minister and a Green Tourism Minister, Catherine Martin,” Ryanair said.
The airline has reiterated its call for Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to resign if there is no positive solution to the cap row.
Ryanair’s Michael O’ Leary said:
“Dublin Airport has today lost 3 aircraft, 16 routes and over 200 jobs to Southern Italy as a direct result of Transport Minister Ryan’s inaction and incompetence. His own aviation policy commits him to growing Irish aviation and tourism, but instead of delivering growth, after 4 years as Transport Minister, he has delivered a traffic cap at Dublin Airport which could last for 3 or 4 years if left to a couple of county councillors in Fingal and Ireland’s archaic planning system.
“Traffic growth at Dublin Airport cannot be fobbed off by a Green Minister to the planning process. He should intervene to lift this cap on an interim basis or quit. He has no problem intervening in the planning process for the airport metro and he should now do likewise with the Dublin Airport traffic cap.
“Dublin Airport is the main gateway to the island of Ireland and our tourism industry, which needs a Transport Minister and a Tourism Minister who are determined to deliver growth, not Green sound bites to cover 4 years of inaction and incompetence. The regions of Southern Italy are today celebrating record traffic and tourism growth which would otherwise have gone to Dublin if it were not for Transport Minister Eamon Ryan’s abject failure to deliver his own aviation growth policy.”
