DAA to re-lodge 'no build' planning application to increase passenger cap at Dublin Airport

Gordon Deegan

The operator of Dublin Airport, DAA, is to re-lodge a planning application with Fingal County Council (FCC) to increase the airport capacity to 36 million passengers per annum in the coming days.

In a statutory planning notice published on Wednesday concerning its Operational Application (OA), DAA stated that no works are proposed for the Dublin Airport site as part of the planning application.

In a statement the DAA stated today that it will resubmit the Operational Application (OA) this week “having reviewed FCC’s feedback and taken this into account”.

A DAA spokeswoman said: “We look forward to engaging further with FCC as the application progresses. Resolving the Dublin Airport terminal's passenger cap is critical to our economy and connectivity.

“This was recognised in the Programme of Government, which commits to working with all stakeholders to achieve the objective of lifting the passenger cap at Dublin Airport as soon as possible."

“We hope the OA can now move swiftly through the planning process and provide a short-term solution to the terminals cap impasse impacting Ireland’s connectivity, tourism and economy," the spokeswoman added.

DAA first lodged its application to increase its passenger numbers to 36 million in December but the application was invalidated by Fingal County Council last month.

The Council stated that it invalidated the application as it failed to comply with three separate articles of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001.

The Council also stated that invalided the application as the proposed description of the development in the public notices was non-compliant with the relevant regulations and was inadequate and misleading.

This prompts an angry reaction from DAA with a spokesman stating at the time that DAA was “baffled and bewildered by this bizarre flip-flop by Fingal County Council”.

A spokesman said: "‘Snakes and Ladders’ approach to planning shows why decisions about Dublin Airport should be made at a national level by An Bord Pleanála and not locally by Fingal County Council."

Consultants for DAA, Coakley O’Neill stated that what the OA application seeks to achieve is permission for a modest uplift in passenger growth – as quickly and simply as possible - in the national interest.

In a planning document lodged with the Council, 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 said 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 County 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 states 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 stated that the proposed development “will not compromise the ability of the airport to expand to 55m 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.