daa Warns That Dublin Airport 32 Million Passenger Cap Will Be Exceeded In 2024

3.8 million passengers through Ireland’s two busiest airports in August.
Cork Airport now the fastest growing airport in Ireland.
daa calls for faster planning and more joined-up infrastructure thinking.
daa says grow Dublin and all the regional airports on the island.

A total of 3.8 million sun seekers, sport fans, Olympians and more, travelled through Dublin and Cork airports in August, continuing the trend of record-breaking demand for international travel this summer.

Dublin Airport

3.46 million passengers went through the terminal doors of Dublin Airport, making this August the busiest month ever in Dublin Airport’s 84-year history. The week of August 12 took the medal for busiest week ever with 829,000* passengers, while Sunday, August 18 was the busiest day ever, with 124,600* passengers going through the airport’s two terminals.

Between May and August, over 10 million passengers passed through the doors of Dublin Airport. This brings the total number to 22.7 million passengers so far in 2024. As of the end of August, terminals passenger numbers are trending 5.5% ahead of 2023, and this trend is forecast to continue into September.

A dampening of passenger numbers is expected from late autumn as a result of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) winter slot decision. This reduces the number of seats airlines flying into Dublin Airport can offer to passengers between November and March.

Some airlines operating at Dublin have also decided to reduce the scale of their operations because of the uncertainty with the 32 million terminals passenger cap.

daa has made extensive efforts to reduce passenger numbers to comply with planning including the removal of airline incentives at Dublin Airport, and the launch by Cork Airport of a new scheme to encourage airlines to move seat capacity from Dublin to Cork. However, based on current forecasted passenger numbers to year end, Dublin Airport’s terminals passenger numbers in 2024 will exceed the 32 million planning condition.

Cork Airport

Cork Airport welcomed a record 340,705 passengers in August, which represented a 10% increase on the previous year. Numbers were buoyed by a record 65,000 people travelling through the airport across the August bank holiday weekend, up 5% on the same weekend in 2023. On Wednesday, August 21, Cork Airport reached another milestone when it passed the two million passenger mark, three months earlier than in 2023.

Cork Airport is now on track to exceed its next milestone of three million passengers travelling internationally before the end of the year. Recent CSO statistics also show Cork Airport is the fastest growing of the three state airports in the first seven months of 2024, achieving a growth rate of 11% so far.

Commenting, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Both Cork and Dublin airports had very strong summers and I’m happy with how the entire daa business is performing. We are in very good shape on core airport operations and commercial activities, and our financials are strong. Passenger satisfaction scores at our airports have never been better, we have brought in many new improvements for passengers (drop & go parking, new restaurants, click & collect shopping, faster wifi, additional seating) and more than 94% of passengers are getting through security in 20 minutes or less.

“I am delighted that Cork Airport is now the fastest growing airport in Ireland. We want that to continue and see an opportunity to grow Cork by 40% in the next six to eight years. At Dublin Airport, like every month so far this year, a new monthly record was set in August with more than 100,000 passengers flying most days, and more than 120,000 plus on a number of days. If we had these passenger numbers every day, then Dublin would already be a 40-million-passenger airport. This summer shows that we can successfully handle that amount of passengers operationally, and I want to thank all of our teams at the airports for their hard work, as well as our airline customers.

“Overall, I’m optimistic about the future except for one thing: the fact that growth at Dublin Airport is now being stalled by an outdated passenger cap, a very lengthy planning process and a lack of joined-up thinking on critical infrastructure in Ireland.

“This leaves Dublin Airport caught between a rock and a hard place. We want to grow so we can continue to connect Ireland with the world and support FDI, tourism and jobs. But while we wait for planning to be granted, we are doing everything we can to comply with existing planning conditions. While our actions to dampen airline demand have reduced passenger numbers by approximately 650,000, we do not control the slot process. We now forecast that passenger numbers will exceed 32 million and will be closer to 33 million in 2024.

“It is in no one’s interests to curtail tourism and investment at a time when so much public and private money is being spent to do the complete opposite. We are a small, open, island economy on the edge of Europe that has always punched above our weight but we need more joined-up thinking in the development of critical infrastructure. It’s time to all come together to realise an ambitious vision of Ireland that sets us up for the future. This includes support for growth at Dublin Airport, so we can keep delivering for Ireland, and growth at Ireland’s great regional airports at Cork, Shannon, Knock, Kerry and Donegal.”

Planning Application

daa has applied to Fingal County Council (FCC) to increase the current terminals passenger cap of 32 million passengers a year to 40 million as part of a broader Infrastructure Application (IA). The IA seeks permission for a range of significant sustainable investments to facilitate the projected growth of passengers through Dublin Airport.

Over €400 million will be invested directly into sustainability and carbon reduction measures as part of our IA and Capital Investment Programme. daa is currently responding to FCC’s comprehensive request for further information on a range of topics and will submit its response before November 15.

daa is also preparing to lodge an Operational Application (OA) which seeks to increase the passenger cap only, without the additional sustainable infrastructure developments detailed in the IA, if this could hasten the lifting of the cap.

* Including connecting and transfer passengers