O’Gorman criticises American lobbyist “scaremongering” over passenger cap

Green leader Roderic O’Gorman has criticised “scaremongering” about the Dublin Airport passenger cap by American lobbyists.

The Dublin West TD was speaking following comments by lobbying group Airlines For America, which told an Oireachtas committee meeting that the Trump administration would “retaliate” if legislation to raise the airline cap isn’t raised.

The chief executive of Airlines for America claimed that Ireland could face “repercussions” if they didn’t act on the airport cap issue, which O’Gorman criticised.

Chief executive of Airlines for America, Chris Sununu claimed that if Ireland were to limit US flights coming in, then there’s “no doubt” the US “may look at limiting Irish flights coming in, primarily, probably to New York.”

Sununu claimed there could be a “domino effect” on Irish industry and foreign direct investment if the passenger cap issue was not addressed. 

O’Gorman argued that Sununu did not share the legal basis for his claims, and was attempting to strong-arm his way through negotiations.

With the government looking to get the legislation over the line by October 1, the date by which Dublin Airport’s legally binding capacity will be reached for the year, the government now finds itself under pressure from opposition both at home and abroad.

O’Gorman criticised the American approach to proceedings, saying that the EU’s Open Skies agreement was being “wielded as a stick by airlines,” and criticised the “implied threat of the Trump regime being conjured to put pressure on Irish lawmakers to pass this bill as quickly as possible.”

“Airlines for America were presenting their own opinion as legal fact; this doesn’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny,” O’Gorman asserted.

“At the committee meeting, it was noted that the Open Skies Agreement doesn’t give any unlimited right to use one particular airport; it is about access to a territory. A cap at one airport, which is applied fairly across airlines, could not be considered contrary to the Open Skies Agreement,” he noted.

“If airlines believed their own arguments, the Open Skies Agreement would have been advanced as a legal argument in the cases they have taken on the Cap to the Irish and European Courts. This is not the case.” O’Gorman stated. 

The judgment on a previous case taken by Airlines for America, where they challenged the legality of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012, held that the scheme was compatible with Open Skies.