Dublin Airport wants to charge more per passenger than they are allowed, according to Eoghan Corry.
The editor of Air and Travel Magazine was speaking as a row is brewing between the airport operator and the aviation regulator.
The DAA has warned it will not be able to afford extra staff needed to deal with security queues and cleanliness.
Eoghan told Newstalk Breakfast the airport wants more money from passengers.
"What's happening at the moment just very simply comes down to money," he said.
People queue at Dublin Airport in June 2022. Picture by: PA Images/Alamy"Dublin Airport wants to charge more per passenger than they're allowed.
"They're looking for about €13 to €14 per passenger change.
"The Commission for Aviation Regulation, who look after these things, have told them that this year they're only allowed charge €8.50 - that's a difference of €5 in between.
"A letter... went from Dublin Airport Authority's chairman, Basil Geoghegan, saying: 'How do you expect us to staff up our security? How do you expect us to offer the services that passengers [expect] when we're not allowed to charge enough?'".
'Bigger background to it'
Eoghan said the airport's new CEO is now arguing for the other side.
"There's a bigger background to it, because the charges are put through for the next four years.
"The new CEO of Dublin Airport is Kenny Jacobs, listeners may remember him arguing for Ryanair for many, many years.
"He was the marketing manager for Ryanair, and coming on your show saying that charges were too high.
"He's now saying they're too low".
Summer chaos?
Eoghan said he believes there will not be massive security delays this summer.
"I think the security queue problem is over," he said.
"Some of the other problems will kick on a little bit, in terms of staffing, in terms of meeting demand.
"There are going to be knock-on problems - and there's a massive problem in other airports that will emerge in Dublin: in the baggage hall.
"Heathrow and Amsterdam [are] still in trouble; we could have a lot of lost bags again this summer.
"But I don't expect us to be told [to] arrive that early at the airport; we will be able to get through security, some of the other bits will be a bit hairy," he added.
DAA statement
In a statement, the DAA said its call to the regulator has 'fallen on deaf ears'.
"Dublin Airport is and wants to remain one of Europe’s lowest cost airports," it said.
"However, CAR's decision on passenger charges is bad news for passengers and airlines who also share our desire for an efficient, high quality service at Dublin Airport.
"The calls from our passengers, Government, and airlines for DAA to recruit more staff to cope with anticipated future demand have fallen on deaf ears in the regulator's offices and with their consultants.
"Disallowing the recruitment of up to 240 of the staff needed at Dublin Airport by 2026 undermines DAA's proposition to keep queues below 30 minutes (a CAR service quality target) and our own standard of under 20 minutes.
"As DAA has consistently said, passenger charges need to be set at a level which allows Dublin Airport to run a resilient operation and give passengers the quality service that they deserve and expect," the statement added.
