Ireland’s image as a location for investment by international airlines has been “tarnished” as a result of the battles over the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, according to Willie Walsh, the Irishman who is director general of IATA, the Geneva-based airline representative body.
Speaking to Inside Business, a podcast from The Irish Times, Mr Walsh said the cap was “viewed with ridicule when I talk to some CEOs as to how it can be that Ireland invests in terminal infrastructure, invests in [new] runways, and then has a cap on how many passengers can use the airport.
“In effect, you’re looking at a situation where Dublin has lower capacity with two runways than it had with a single runway,” he said.
At present, Dublin is subject to a cap limiting the number of passengers at Dublin Airport to 32 million a year. This flows from a planning restriction dating back to 2007. The cap has effectively been paused following various legal challenges and is awaiting a ruling from European courts.
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IATA Director General Willie Walsh on airline profits, air fares and why the Dublin Airport passenger cap makes Ireland a laughing stock
This week host Ciarán Hancock is joined by Willie Walsh, the director general of IATA, the Geneva-based representative group for the airline industry.Willie will be known to you as the Irish man who was a high-profile chief executive of both Aer Lingus and British Airways.He then became head of IAG, which is the parent group to both of those airlines plus some Spanish carriers, including Iberia.He’s now in charge of IATA, with his contract set to run until 2027.You’ll hear Willie talk about airline profits and whether air fares are likely to go up or down in the near term.He spoke about aviation’s role in reducing harmful carbon emissions and the chances of a climate-friendly biofuel being developed for commercial use.He gives his view on why emerging markets such as India and burgeoning economies in Africa are entitled to grow their airline industries and passenger traffic as they become wealthier.He also expresses his frustrations with the inefficient way air traffic control is managed in Europe.And Willie explains why, in his view, Ireland has become something of a laughing stock on the international stage over the legal battles being fought around the Dublin Airport passenger cap. In his view, this is hindering growth here and jeopardising foreign direct investment. And the 63-year-old talks about his plans for retirement, which could include Italian wine. Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound.
DAA expects 36 million passengers to use Dublin Airport this year.
Mr Walsh, a former CEO of both Aer Lingus and British Airways, is aware of airlines who had Ireland “on their agenda in terms of expansion who are now questioning whether they should go forward with that because of these issues”.
“It is having an impact on how people are considering expanding into Ireland. What a lot of airlines want, particularly long haul international airlines, is certainty about being able to have access next year and the year after and the year after.
“What we call grandfather rights with slots that will enable them to publish a schedule that they know will be consistent for years ahead. With the uncertainty around the cap, it’s going to be quite damaging when airlines are looking at expanding their long haul networks.”
He said the cap had caused “quite a bit of anger” among US carriers, who view Ireland as an opportunity for expansion.
Mr Walsh said using Cork or Shannon airports would not appeal to airlines as an alternative to Dublin.
“Airlines look at the airport they want to serve, they look at the city they want to serve and if Dublin Airport is not available, they’re not going to say ‘there’s this great airport in the west of Ireland called Shannon which is under utilised, plenty of capacity, why don’t you fly there’.
“It just won’t register on their map. If they were attracted to Shannon ... they would have been there already but that’s not the case.”
