Eamon Ryan is acting like the ‘Christmas Grinch’ by failing to step in to the Dublin Airport passenger cap row, Ryanair has claimed.
The budget airline, along with several of its competitors, has brought a case to the High Court, urging it to intervene and temporarily overturn Dublin Airport’s 25.2 million capacity cap for the 2025 summer season.
The airlines have also challenged the passenger restrictions for the current winter period, with the case due to be heard next month.
In August, the airport announced it would breach its 32 million passenger cap this year.
The airport normally adds around 250,000 extra seats to the schedule each Christmas; however, this year the cap has prevented it from doing so.
On Breakfast Business with Joe Lynam, Ryanair CFO Neil Sorahan the decision would likely send fares soaring.
“Capacity is capped in Dublin,” he said.
“Extra flights that we typically put on over the Christmas period, unfortunately, have not been permitted by the current Minister for Transport.
“They could be but the Grinch has decided not to allow it this time out.
“We are potentially looking at very high fares for travel back and forward to Ireland.”
People passing through Dublin Airport. Image: Stephen Barnes/Travel / AlamyDublin airport operator DAA has lodged a planning application with Fingal County Council, aimed at increasing the passenger cap from 32 million to 40 million passengers per year.
Ryanair has been calling on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to step in and instruct DAA to ignore the cap while the planning process is ongoing.
The airline has also urged him to tell the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to ignore the cap and approve extra seats this winter and next summer.
Minister Ryan has consistently said it would be innapropriate for him to intervene in the planning process.
Other members of the Green Party have publicly voiced their opposition to plans to iuncrease the cap, with former MEP for Dublin Ciaran Cuffe raising concern about the impact on Ireland’s climate targets.n Ireland’s climate targets.
Aviation and the planet
Mr Sorahan said Ryanair has set itself "very challenging" climate targets but that the company was struggling to source sustainable aviation fuel - which produces 80% less carbon emissions than a typical flight.
“There will be mandates on the fuel companies from next year to deliver at least 2% sustainable aviation fuel,” he said.
“That will rise quite quickly over the next decade.
“We’ve been ahead of the curve and we’ve set ourselves a very challenging target of picking up about 12.5% of our fuel in SAF by about 2031.
“We’ve got 10% of that committed already and, importantly, we’ve been taking in aircraft that are 16% more fuel efficient.”
According to Our World in Data, aviation accounts for 2.5% of the planet’s carbon emissions - despite the fact only 10% of the world’s population fly in a typical year.
In a statement to Newstalk, the Department of Transport said the Irish Aviation Authority has "responsibility for allocating slots to airlines" under EU law.
"The Winter '24 and Summer '25 decisions are currently the subject of ongoing court proceedings between the Irish Aviation Authority and a number of other parties," a spokesperson said.
"As these matters are the subject of court proceedings it is not appropriate for the Department or Minister to comment further."
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Main image: Eamon Ryan TD. Picture by: David Creedon
