Big increase in winter flights at Dublin Airport expected after cap suspended

Airlines from Aer Lingus to Qatar Airways are likely to expand seat availability after limit is paused

The Government has promised to remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, which is expecting its busiest summer. Stock image. Photo: Getty

John Mulligan

Aer Lingus, Ryanair and a number of major international airlines are piling back into Dublin Airport next winter after a passenger cap at the airport was effectively suspended this year.

The number of seats that will be available on flights in and out of the capital will rise to just under 17.9 million for the season, a 23pc increase on last winter.

Last winter, just under 14.4 million seats were set to be made available by carriers as the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) decided to limit numbers to ensure Dublin Airport adhered to its annual 32 million passenger cap.

While the number available next winter is expected to shoot back up to 17.9 million, that is still below the near 18.4 million that were being made available for winter 2023-2024.

Aer Lingus intends to have more than 4.7 million seats available this winter. That’s 560,000 more than last winter. Ryanair will have 7.54 million, compared with the 6.25 million it had last season.

Other international operators, from Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad to US airlines including United, Delta and American, will have hundreds of thousands of extra seats available between them.

Dublin Airport’s passenger cap is due to a planning condition attached in 2007 to the construction of Terminal 2.

However, this year Dublin Airport will handle about 36.3 million passengers, following decisions by the High Court that effectively paused the cap while certain matters related to aircraft take-off and landing slot allocations are being examined by the European Court of Justice. It is not likely to deliver a ruling on those matters until summer next year.

Dublin Airport’s slots are managed by UK-based firm Airport Coordination.

Its initial co-ordination report for the coming winter period, which covers ­October 26 to March 28 next year, shows the dramatic increase in the planned seat availability now that the IAA cannot, for the time being at least, limit the number at Dublin Airport.

The report shows there was demand for 103,020 take-off and landing slots for the season, with 102,754 allocated.

New slots for the period were requested by a slew of airlines, from Aer Lingus and Ryanair, to Hainan Airlines, Emirates and Etihad.

Ryanair remains by far the biggest operator at Dublin Airport for the season, with 39pc of allocated slots for the winter. Aer Lingus has 23pc. Emerald Airlines, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service, has just under 13pc.

The largest non-Irish long-haul carrier out of Dublin is United Airlines, with 1,080 slots for the winter, followed by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

The report from Airport Coordination notes that some new destinations which intended to be operated next winter include routes to Albania’s capital, Tirana, as well as to Rabat in Morocco and a direct service to Derry.

The Government has pledged to have the cap removed. While Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien has suggested legislation will be brought forward in the autumn to address the cap, it could take some time before it is removed.

Dublin Airport is set for its busiest ever summer, with passenger numbers expected to surpass 10 million for the season. It expects to have a number of days where passenger numbers will significantly exceed 100,000.