Dublin airport passenger cap a 'joke' that curbs expansion, IATA chief says
DUBLIN, Oct 16 (Reuters) -The head of the global airline body IATA Willie Walsh said a passenger cap at Dublin airport in his native Ireland has become "a joke" internationally, and is preventing airlines from expanding there.
The number of passengers at Dublin airport, which carries around 80% of the country's air passengers, was capped at 32 million when planners approved the construction of a second terminal in 2007, in part to avoid local road congestion.
The airport this month warned it was on course to overshoot that by a million passengers this year, despite having reduced passenger numbers across the year by approximately 650,000.
"It's become a joke outside of Ireland," Walsh told an Irish think tank.
"I speak to international airlines who want to serve the Irish market. For them, Dublin is serving the Irish market and they can't because we have this restriction," he added.
While a planning application has been lodged to lift the cap to 40 million, the process is widely expected to take years, prompting airlines to warn of potential damage to Ireland's economy and call on the government to take action.
Dubliner Walsh, a former head of Ireland's Aer Lingus, said the Irish government will have to intervene if a long term solution is to be found.
The government has repeatedly said that it has no powers to intervene in the planning process.
Reporting by Padraic Halpin
Editing by Alexandra Hudson
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