The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has set a limit of 25.2 million seats at Dublin Airport next summer.
This limit was set out in the coordination parameters which sets Dublin Airport’s Summer 2025 Capacity.
The parameters define how many aircraft may be scheduled to use Dublin airport at a particular time.
These parameters will be used in the airport slot allocation process.
In making its decision, the IAA says it has taken account of the approximately 70 responses received in response to the consultation, which closed on 26 September.
The IAA is responsible for the implementation of the EU Airport Slot Regulation. The Slot Regulation aims to ensure that, where airport capacity is scarce, the maximum available capacity is identified and distributed in a fair and transparent way by means of the allocation of take-off and landing slots by an independent coordinator, according to rules set out in the Slot Regulation, and based on the capacity identified for the airport concerned. Capacity is declared to the detailed level of up to 10 minute intervals.
The IAA’s role includes identifying and determining the maximum available capacity at Dublin Airport and setting the consequent parameters for slot allocation. The IAA is required to take account of all relevant technical, operational and environmental constraints. Such constraints may include the capacity of runways, airspace capacity, availability of aircraft stands, various passenger processes such as check-in and security screening, and planning constraints imposed on daa by the planning authorities in the form of planning conditions.
In a statement, the IAA said:
“In 2007, An Bord Pleanála imposed a planning condition on daa’s development of Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, which limits the combined capacity of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport to a maximum of 32 million passengers per annum. This planning condition remains in existence, and is limiting the available slot capacity below the capacity of the physical infrastructure.
“To take account of the capacity constraint represented by the planning condition set by An Bord Pleanála, the IAA has set a seat capacity limit of 25.2 million seats for the Summer 2025 scheduling season. This is in line with what the IAA proposed in its Draft Decision and the proposal put forward by daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, during the deliberations of the coordination committee, in which daa also stated that the IAA should have regard to the condition. The members of the coordination committee include Dublin Airport and the air carriers using Dublin Airport. The committee is tasked by the Slot Regulation with advising the IAA in respect of the coordination parameters to be declared.
“This decision makes Summer 2025 the second scheduling season to take account of the An Bord Pleanála 32m passengers per annum planning condition constraint. For Winter 2024 (26 October 2024 to 29 March 2025) the seat cap is 14.4m. The decision for Summer 2025 results in a total seat capacity of 39.6m across the two seasons. The seat cap is greater than the passenger cap as it takes account of expected load factors (how many passengers are expected on each flight relative to the total number of seats on the aircraft), and an adjustment for transfer passengers.”
The IAA also said it anticipates that the demand for slots for the Summer 2025 scheduling season will significantly exceed the 25.2m seat cap. In line with the Slot Regulation, air carriers who have operated series of slots (5 weeks or longer) in the Summer 2024 season will be given priority, on initial coordination, in relation to those series for Summer 2025. However, the IAA anticipates that not all slot series from Summer 2024 will be capable of being accommodated within the seat cap.
Dublin Airport Authority (daa) said it welcomes the Irish Aviation Authority’s confirmation of its final decision to impose a seat cap mechanism for Dublin Airport during the summer 2025 season.
Daa also said it is now reviewing the decision and awaiting the detailed supporting document which is due for publication later this week. However, the decision to cap seats next summer, while bad for Irish jobs, the economy and connectivity, should help Dublin Airport comply with planning in 2025.
In a statement, daa said: “daa’s job is to run Dublin Airport on behalf of Ireland, but daa does not have the power to stop airlines using slots or passengers boarding planes.
“In fact, daa would be acting illegally if it tried to prevent people from flying or flights taking off. As the IAA confirmed today, it is responsible for the implementation of the EU Airport Slot Regulation and is the body with the power to reduce aircraft flying to Dublin Airport.
“Had the IAA not made this decision as slots regulator, daa would continue to be left holding the problem of trying to comply with planning laws but without a solution in its power. While Dublin Airport wants to grow, cutting the seats coming to Dublin is the only way to meet the planning condition. Therefore today’s decision is welcomed by daa.”
Commenting, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “We’ve done everything we can to dampen demand and have asked the High Court to review the IAA’s winter slot decision to avoid Dublin Airport exceeding the 32 million cap in 2024. Today’s announcement means we should be in a position to comply in 2025, which is to be welcomed.
“However, a million seats coming out next year has real financial consequences for Ireland. We estimate the damage to the economy to be at least €500 million, increasing to €700 million if we consider lost airfares too.
“There are also real consequences for airlines, people working at the airport and the travelling public, as well as knock-on impacts on tourism and jobs. This issue is no longer just an airport or a planning issue, it is now an Ireland issue.
“Lifting the passenger cap to 40 million passengers a year is in line with national aviation policy, the Fingal Development Plan and the Dublin Airport Local Area Plan.
“But while we wait for planning permission for this, we support the IAA’s decision to cut seats despite the consequences for Ireland.”