Dublin airport: 36 million passengers per year is 'a modest uplift in growth', consultants say

Gordon Deegan

Planning consultants for Dublin airport operator, daa, have stated that new plans to increase airport capacity to 36 million passengers per annum is “a modest uplift in passenger growth”.

Daa lodged the plans for the Operational Application (OA) in the week prior to Christmas Day with Fingal Co Council and in the planning documents now available, daa planning consultants, Coakley O’Neill Town Planning stress that no physical works are either required or proposed as part of the planning application.

They state that what this application seeks to achieve is permission for a modest uplift in passenger growth – as quickly and simply as possible - in the national interest".

They state that with passenger numbers forecasted to reach 40 million passengers per annum by 2030, "the sustainable growth of the airport is paramount".

The airport’s current contentious passenger cap is 32 million passengers per annum and Coakley O’Neill state that if permitted “the proposal will go some way towards meeting demand for global connectivity that already exists, facilitate inward bound tourism and business and, in turn, support economic activity and social connections that are so important to our national wellbeing.”

Fingal Co Council is currently evaluating a separate daa Infrastructure Application (IA) seeking an increase to 40 million passengers per annum and Coakley O’Neill admit that "it is likely that the IA will be in the planning process for some time”.

Coakley O’Neill state that while daa remains committed to the implementation of the IA application, “there is, nevertheless, a pressing need for the airport, as Ireland’s national airport, to be in a position, in the short-term, to compete with other international hub airports of scale for new routes and connections, for the benefit of the country as a whole, by way of an uplift in passenger throughput”.

The consultants state that the existing infrastructure at Dublin airport can facilitate the proposed increase in passenger numbers to 36 million passengers per annum “without requiring physical works and without compromising on the quality of service”.

The 44-page Coakley O’Neill report states that the proposed development “will not compromise the ability of the airport to expand to 55 million passengers per annum passenger throughput at some point in the future, including the provision of a third terminal, if required and supported by sectoral and planning policy then prevailing”.

The report states that overall, “the proposed OA is in the interests of the proper planning and sustainable development to protect and enhance the airport as a national strategic infrastructure asset for the benefit of the country as a whole, and to enable it to compete with other international hub airports of scale for new routes and connections”.

The report states that “the proposed uplift in passenger numbers has been assessed against key environmental metrics, including aviation noise and traffic, to demonstrate that the proposed development is in line with applicable planning and aviation policy, and that there are no significant environmental effects”.

The report states that the proposed increase in passengers is required to maximise the use of the significant investment already made in existing airport infrastructure including the North Runway and to contribute to further growth in aviation employment and secure additional economic benefits for the country.

The closing date for submissions is February 4th with a decision due later in February.