Politicians could axe the 32 million a-year limit on passengers at Dublin Airport within weeks after Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien brings legislation to Cabinet this month.
Airlines and State airports company DAA have been urging the Government to end the so-called “passenger cap” before an EU court ruling forces regulators to implement it, severely cutting flights at the country’s biggest gateway.
O’Brien will bring the full text of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026, giving the Minister the power to end or change the limit, to Cabinet on Tuesday June 16th, according to a Government source familiar with the matter.
This should pave the way for the Dáil and Seanad to debate the legislation in the succeeding weeks, potentially passing it into law by mid-July, ending a controversy that has run for several years.
RM Block
Irish and North American airlines recently warned politicians of consequences ranging from US sanctions to economic damage resulting from the loss of flights if they failed to remove the passenger limit which has been in place for 19 years.
The Government pledged to remove the cap, following consultation with all stakeholders, when it took office early last year.
O’Brien has said several times that ending the row was among his political priorities.
High Court action by airlines stalled the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) from implementing the cap by taking account of it when deciding the conditions for allocating take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport.
The court stayed the authority from taking this step when it referred several questions of EU law to the European courts in late 2024.
[ Dublin Airport passenger cap set to be scrappedOpens in new window ]
The EU Court of Justice is set to rule on those questions in coming months. A likely finding that the IAA should take the cap into account when allocating slots would force its implementation.
Unless the legislation is passed in the meantime, airlines say that the European court ruling would result in the loss of flights and traffic at Dublin, which handled more than 36 million passengers last year.
IAA chief executive, Declan Fitzpatrick, pledges in the authority’s report that it will aid the Government, DAA, planning authority Fingal County Council and other stakeholders in any way it can to address the 32 million cap.
Fitzpatrick recently told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport that the cap was never meant to limit overall growth at Dublin Airport.
Planners imposed the limit in 2007 on the existing terminals, one and two, on the basis that DAA or a private organisation would build a third terminal to allow further growth.
Developments in air travel since then mean a third terminal is no longer needed to facilitate growth, but the planning condition remains in place.
[ Airport cap not meant to halt growth, Oireachtas committee toldOpens in new window ]
The IAA is currently adjudicating on the passenger charges that Dublin Airport can levy on airlines from next year to 2031. It will make a final decision in coming months.
The IAA regulates air travel safety and consumer rights. Its annual report showed that last year it awarded €1.13 million in refunds and compensation to passengers after upholding more than 1,200 complaints against airlines.
The authority licenses airlines, travel agents and ground handlers. The report shows that there were 16 licensed airlines operating in the Republic last year while the authority had 1,467 aircraft on its register.
The IAA’s accounts showed that it had €45 million in revenues last year, €19 million of which came from certification. It earned €6.1 million in profit.
Aviation employs more than 44,000 people in the Republic and contributes €4.7 billion to the economy, according to the IAA’s report.
