Economic self-sabotage? Dublin airport passenger cap row heats up

A spokesperson for Ireland’s Green Party has said that the DAA group, which runs Dublin airport, isn’t taking a realistic path towards sustainability.

“The rest of the economic sectors are addressing them [climate concerns], and aviation seems to …want to keep growing as fast as it can without any real constraints,” said David Healy, Green spokesperson on Fingal County Council.

“Projections for passenger numbers are not consistent with a future of reduced aviation emissions,” he told Euronews.

Healy’s comments come in response to dialogue from the DAA earlier this week, regarding a restriction on passenger numbers at Dublin airport.

The DAA is currently fighting an annual cap of 32 million passengers, also opposed by airlines.

Introduced in 2007, the limit was introduced to manage traffic congestion.

“By capping Dublin all you’re doing is immediately costing jobs to the Irish economy,…and you’re giving Irish aviation and Irish tourism a bad look because it’s creating this cloud of uncertainty,” said Kenny Jacobs, CEO of the DAA.

He was speaking at an Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) event on Wednesday.

Growing to invest in sustainability

Asked about sustainability, Jacobs noted that the DAA is “fully committed” to climate progress but added that “you have to economically grow to be able to invest”.

Expensive green technology, he said, cannot be integrated into aviation processes without the funds that passengers bring.

Referring to the DAA and airlines, councillor Healy nonetheless argued that the redeeming effects of technology are being overstated.

“There are some technological options. But nobody is really predicting that the technological options are going to allow us to keep growing aviation at the rate that we have been to date.”

In the DAA’s carbon reduction report, the firm states that Dublin Airport will be able to accommodate up to 40 million passengers annually thanks to upgrades made between 2022 to 2026.

This is now being challenged by the current cap.

When questioned on passenger limits, Healy stated that Ireland’s Green Party wasn’t opposed to a modification of the 32 million threshold.

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Even so, he added that climate concerns must be taken more seriously when drawing up projections.

He said the Green Party couldn’t recommend a specific number for a revised cap.

Is technology the way forward?

Technological improvements that could make flying more sustainable often target the type of fuel used in aircrafts.

Hydrogen-powered planes are one suggestion, although there are concerns about their suitability for long-distance routes.

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Sourcing hydrogen in an environmentally-friendly way is also an issue, as some procedures used to create this gas emit a lot of CO2.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), made from plant or animal materials, have similarly been floated as a means of making flying greener.

The Irish government noted this year that the SAF industry is “still an an early stage of development, with limited production capacity”.

The future of the cap

Dublin airport is actively engaged in discussions to lift the passenger cap, although it’s highly likely this won’t be resolved before next year.

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Earlier this week, Ireland’s Minister for Tourism said that the restriction wasn’t an issue for politicians – but rather progress must be made through official planning routes.

Minister Catherine Martin added that there could be benefits of the cap, notably that it could bring a boost to airports outside of Dublin.

Kenny Jacobs contested this, stating: “the whole notion that cap Dublin can prompt a move to the regions is simplistic, naive, and it doesn’t reflect how the airlines work.”