Shannon Airport is not a viable alternative to Dublin under the airport’s passenger cap, according to a chief executive at Ryanair.
Dublin Airport’s passenger cap currently sits at 32 million annually, a limit put in place in 2007 as part of planning permission for the second terminal.
Despite this, over 34 million passengers came through the airport last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Some have suggested that Shannon Airport could act as an alternative to Dublin, much like how travellers to London can choose to go fly into Stansted rather than the more central Heathrow of Gatwick.
However, chief executive at Ryanair Eddie Wilson told The Anton Savage Show that the two situations are not comparable.
“They’re all designated as London airports, Shannon isn’t designated as a Dublin airport,” he said.
“So, you’ve got Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, London City and Heathrow – they're all London airports and they all have their own unique ways.
“If you’re doing business in the city of London and you want to pay sky-high fares, you can fly into London City and you can be in Canary Wharf in a couple of minutes.
“If you want to get right into Bishop’s Gate or whatever it is, Stansted is most convenient rather than Heathrow because you can go right across.
“So, there’s different ways, but it’s demand driven, it’s what people want.”
British Airways aircraft at London Heathrow Airport. Credit: Maureen McLean/Alamy Live News. 22nd March, 2025.However, Mr Wilson said that since Shannon was not set up as an alternative to Dublin, it is not sought out by travellers.
“You look at places like Cork, [which] has done a long-term deal with us, Shannon has done a long-term deal,” he said.
“These are vibrant airport systems competing for capacity because we have to get out of this nationalistic way of looking at it.
“Cork and Shannon are not competing necessarily with Dublin, they’re competing with Turin or Grenoble or Copenhagen because it’s [how] the airline decides where to put the capacity into you are an airport or not.”
Mr Wilson said there is “huge passenger demand for additional capacity in Dublin”, and that the cap should be lifted to allow this demand to be met.
Main image: Shannon Airport
