A PASSENGER cap in place at Dublin Airport will likely be exceeded this year, its operators have warned.
Some 3.46million people have travelled through the airport in August alone this year, marking the busiest month in the 84-year history of the airport.
Between May and August, over 10 million passengers passed through its doors.
As of the end of August, terminals passenger numbers are trending 5.5 per cent ahead of 2023, the airpor has confirmed, and this trend is forecast to continue into September.
As a result, operators the Dublin Airport Authority (daa) have warned that the current figures will see it exceed the 32 million passenger cap in place at the airport.
“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I’m optimistic about the future except for one thing: the fact that growth at Dublin Airport is now being stalled by an outdated passenger cap, a very lengthy planning process and a lack of joined-up thinking on critical infrastructure in Ireland,” daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
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.