Aer Lingus has dropped a challenge to Ryanair’s proposal to build a €40 million maintenance hangar at Dublin Airport.
The carrier was seeking leave from the planning appeals body An Bord Pleanála to challenge Fingal County Council’s decision to allow its rival build the hangar next to a facility leased by Aer Lingus at the airport.
However, Aer Lingus confirmed on Friday it had dropped the appeal application “in respect of the planning permission granted for the construction of hangar 7″.
It had feared preparatory work Dublin Airport would have had to complete to allow Ryanair build the facility would have interfered with its own operations at the adjacent hangar 6.
“Following a period of uncertainty, Aer Lingus has now made significant progress in discussions with Dublin Airport on a workable solution for operations at the adjacent hangar 6,” it said in a statement.
“We will now work constructively with Dublin Airport in order to formalise that solution.”
Aer Lingus leases hangar 6 at the airport. It wanted to appeal the local authority’s decision to grant Ryanair permission for hangar 7 on the grounds that the preparatory work at the site would have prevented aircraft from getting in and out of its own facility.
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An Bord Pleanála granted it leave to appeal last year, but Ryanair challenged this in the High Court which directed the planning board to reconsider the Aer Lingus application.
Aer Lingus subsequently began talks with Dublin Airport operator DAA which led to this week’s decision to drop the application.
Although the pair have yet to formalise the agreement, it is understood the airline is confident the talks’ outcome will deal with its concerns.
Neither DAA nor Ryanair commented on Friday. Ryanair has previously said its rival’s appeal was a delaying tactic.
Last year it told the High Court that An Bord Pleanála had erred in its decision to grant Aer Lingus leave to appeal and had considered several irrelevant issues in arriving at that conclusion.
Aer Lingus did not make any submission to Fingal County Council, the planning authority responsible for Dublin Airport, while Ryanair was seeking permission for the development.
After the council granted permission in December 2023, Aer Lingus sought its appeal under section 37(6) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000.
That provision allows someone to challenge planning decisions relating to property adjoining their own, but they must apply to An Bord Pleanála for leave to appeal in the first place.
Ryanair said almost two years ago that the 11,150sq m maintenance hangar would create up to 200 jobs for aircraft engineers and technicians.
The airline intended spending €40 million on the development and had originally said it would start maintaining aircraft there from the middle of this year.
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