There will be no cap on the number of passenger seats on aircraft using Dublin Airport next summer.

A High Court ruling will prevent the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) from imposing a cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport during the summer 2025 season.

The temporary stay on restricting seat numbers has been put in place following legal action by a number of airlines, including Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

32-million

In 2007, a cap of 32-million passengers was placed on annual passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, as one of the conditions for the construction of a second terminal.

As the airport continues to get busier and busier, a plan was put in place to restrict numbers for summer 2025 by approximately one million.

As a result, lawyers for Ryanair, Aer Lingus, and several US airlines went to the High Court looking for an order to put a pause on the plan pending further legal action.

Today, Mr Justice Barry O’Donnell ruled in the various airlines’ favour.

'Idiotic'

In a statement, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, described the cap as “idiotic”.

He said today’s ruling paves the way for the matter to be referred to the EU courts where he is confident the 2007 restriction will be removed, enabling airlines like Ryanair to continue to grow traffic, tourism and jobs in Ireland.

Dublin Airport Authority said today's decision will be welcomed by the aviation sector, and it is reviewing the decision to understand the implications for next year.

An Aer Lingus aircraft at Dublin Airport, 4-8-21. Image: Sam Boal /Rollingnews.ie