Ryanair is encouraging their passengers to "sit tight" amidst panic over potential flight cancellations due to late-night flight regulations.

When Dublin Airport applied for planning permission for its second runway, it was granted on the grounds there would be an average of 65 flights per night.

The airport is currently exceeding that number and Fingal County Council has ordered it to comply with planning permission conditions within a six-week period.

This could potentially result in flight delays, diversions, or even cancellations.

Speaking to On The Record, Ryanair Director of Marketing Dara Brady said the regulations could mean that a proportion of flights due to take off during the night would no longer be able to fly.

"Those aircraft can't be moved into later slots that are already full," he said.

"The issue here is very significant."

'Mismanagement'

Mr Brady said Ryanair are faced with another "mismanagement" by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and DAA.

"This situation is ultimately going to put passengers at significant risk of having their flights cancelled," he said.

"What [Fingal County Council] is asking for is that we end up in a farcical situation where we now have two runways at Dublin Airport, but yet we have less flights than when we had one."

Mr Brady said Government has not yet informed Ryanair of the potential consequences of the regulation.

"We've seen the usual tactic from the minister – gone to ground, nothing to be done, nothing to be said," he said.

"Under the COVID proposal, we're again in this farcical situation that we have a lot of air traffic control delays across Europe at the moment.

"If some passenger's flight was delayed getting back into Dublin and arrived at 11:30pm or 11:45pm, in theory, based on this new judgement, they have to be diverted to Shannon."

'Wait and see'

Mr Brady said Ryanaiur encourage passengers to "wait and see" before changing any flights.

"The enforcement takes six weeks, we would expect we'd have to notify passengers generally two weeks before the flight if there's going to be a change," he said.

"If there is a change and the flights are cancelled, they'll be given the option of a refund or moving the flights to another date.

"This has to get sorted – this can't be a situation where passengers are the ones that are penalised on the basis of mismanagement.

"We'd encourage passengers to sit tight, we'll inform them as soon as we know what's happening."

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