Dublin Airport plan for drop-off fees is rejected

PLANS to introduce drop-off and pick-up fees at Dublin Airport have failed to take off.

Airport operator daa applied to install new paid drop-off and pick-up zones in front of terminals one and two in order to reduce car journeys to and from the airport.

They also claim they want to stop private drivers picking up passengers outside the terminals.

The airport operator said the revenue generated would be ring-fenced and “invested in a series of sustainability initiatives” at the airport.

However, Fingal County Council have refused to grant daa planning permission for the necessary road infrastructure required.

The airport operator wanted to begin work on the new zones during the Covid pandemic as they felt there would be less impact or disruption on airport business.

Those plans are now up in the air after Fingal County Council ruled that the change to the airport infrastructure “would pose a significant risk to human safety.”

They also ruled that the loss of long term car-parking from the development “would materially contravene an objective in the Dublin Airport Local Area Plan.”

Paid drop-off and pick-up zones are already in use at other airports in Ireland, such as Cork and Belfast International.

Under the proposed plans a free drop-off and pick-up option would continue to be available a new in an area in the Express Red long-term car park. At present, private cars are allowed drop passengers in front of both terminals at Dublin Airport but they are not permitted to collect people from these locations.

However, the airport said the system has been “abused by some for several years, with cars illegally stopping to wait for pick-ups or circling the campus roads several times before they finally collect their party”.

Consultants for daa argued that the new zones “will contribute towards improved efficiency of landslide operations, specifically the movement of vehicular traffic at Dublin Airport”.

The operation of the paid drop off and pick up zone is based on Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras with plates read at entry and exit and the charge dictated by the time spent by the driver in the drop off zone.

Ryanair had lodged an objection argued that the proposals “would have a negative impact on customer experience and have an additional financial cost to passengers.”

BMA Planning, representing Ryanair, told the council that the airline “find it difficult to understand the problem which the application purports to be resolving and if the extent of the measures are necessary”.

A spokesperson for daa told Northside People:

“The safety and security of passengers and staff is always daa’s main priority.

“daa does not compromise on safety and would never lodge a planning application which it felt was unsafe in any way.”

daa are now free to appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála.