Maintaining Dublin Airport’s passenger cap will lead to a “tsunami” of small business closures, a Kerry hotelier has predicted.
The airport is expected to breach its 32 million passenger cap this year and the Irish Aviation Authority has responded with a proposal to reduce the number of flights next summer.
Earlier this week, Fáilte Ireland described the passenger cap as a significant long-term risk to Ireland’s tourism.
On Lunchtime Live, independent Cllr Niall O’Callaghan from Killarney said the passenger cap impacts “the whole of the industry”, not just people who work in Dublin.
“The loss of flights next summer is a big worry for the tourism industry all over the country,” he said.
“The taking away of the last of our tourism industry supply is affecting what we can do as a tourism industry.
“Then there’s all the other things; wasn’t it very sad that the Minister for Finance never once referenced the word hospitality once in his speech in the budget? Not once.
“Hospitality is struggling.”
Planning application
The DAA has lodged a planning application with Fingal County Council, urging the councillors to increase the passenger cap to 40 million.
Environmentalists have opposed the application as it would drive up carbon emissions but Cllr O’Callaghan feels change is needed to help people who work in tourism.
The move also has the support of airlines and a number of Government Ministers who feel the measure would boost economic growth.
“32 million isn’t servicing our industry,” he said.
“You’ll see a tsunami of closures of small businesses, small restaurants, small shops - they can’t survive, they can’t keep going the way things are going.”
In the meantime, Cllr O’Callaghan wants the Government to create a full-time Minister for Tourism and focus on boosting regional airports.
“We have an airport in Kerry, we have an airport in Shannon, we have an airport in Knock, we have an airport in Cork,” he said.
“We should have an airport fully operational in Cork and Galway - we’re not thinking outside the box in terms of getting people in.”
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Main image: A restaurant. Image: Alamy.com
