Ryanair won’t add more Dublin routes due to passenger cap

Ryanair will not be growing its routes in and out of Dublin this summer because of the passenger cap at the airport, the airline has said today.

The company also warned that the cap is also blocking its plan to grow Irish traffic by 50% between now and 2030.

However, launching its summer schedule, the airline said it is expecting to grow traffic at regional airports Cork, Shannon and Knock over the coming months.

“Dublin Airport is a piece of national infrastructure and we cannot wait four years or longer from planning delays to have the cap lifted,” Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary said at a briefing in Dublin this morning.

Dublin Airport is close to its 32 million passengers per year limit and operator daa is currently seeking permission to have the cap lifted to 50 million.

Today the airline once again reiterated its call for the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to take urgent action, even on an interim basis, to scrap the cap.

Mr O’Leary said the ministers should either “grow, or go”.

The matter is currently before the planning authorities and the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said it is not appropriate for him to intervene, despite strong calls from airlines and business organisations for the cap to be lifted.

Mr O’Leary said without the cap restrictions, it would have placed four more aircraft in Dublin for summer of 2024, creating 12 new routes and growing passenger numbers by 2 million on last year.

Instead, he said, the new aircraft will be placed elsewhere in Europe, with just one new aircraft coming to Ireland this summer, to Cork.

He said if the Government can not intervene by ministerial order then it should pass legislation.

Despite the difficulties in Dublin, the airline said it expects to add 50 new Boeing 737 aircraft and plans to open 80 new routes across Europe.

This will lead to traffic rising by 16 million passengers, from 183.5 million to over 200 million.