Why Dublin Airport Should Be Allowed To Expand

While aviation only accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, the sector is well aware of its responsibilities in helping to address the global climate challenge. It is a challenge that daa accepts and is tackling head on, with our full focus on reducing the carbon emissions that our operations generate (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions) by 51% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions across our group by 2050 at the latest. Neither are we shying away from the bigger picture too, as we work concertedly with all other players in the aviation sector, including our airline partners, to reduce and eliminate carbon emissions– including those produced by planes flying in the sky.?

Maintaining a cap of 32 million passengers per year at Dublin Airport is a misguided approach to reducing emissions. The reality is that any flights that can't be accommodated at Dublin Airport as a result of the cap will simply move to another airport - not necessarily in Ireland - but likely in another capital city airport elsewhere in Europe. Ireland's answer to climate change cannot be to push the issue across the Irish Sea and simply make it someone else's problem.?

And it’s not just important connectivity that we’ll lose as a result. Independent analysis conducted last year by InterVistas indicates that maintaining the current 32 million cap would lead to Ireland forgoing 17,800 new jobs and €1.5 billion in economic growth by 2030. By 2055, the number of jobs lost to Ireland would be 53,300 –equivalent to the population of Waterford City - while €4.4 billion would be lost to the economy.?

Maintaining the cap would also have huge implications for Ireland's business sector, with trade and visitor numbers being constrained. A national airport that is not allowed to grow will hugely damage Ireland's ability to attract investment from overseas. It will also hurt Ireland's attractiveness to tourists.?

Enabling those flights to come to Dublin, the city region with the best transport connections to the rest of the country, would be the best option. That's because Dublin Airport has both the ambition and the plan to be the most sustainable major airport in Europe. Dublin Airport’s base airlines already boast some of the youngest, quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft fleets in the world, while the planning application that daa has submitted to Fingal County Council includes more than 20 game-changing sustainability projects - matched by a planned spend of more than €400 million - that will make our operations amongst the most environmentally friendly of any of our peer airports in Europe.?

daa remains focused too on reducing the impact of our operations on our valued neighbours. Progress is being made, with the number of people significantly impacted by aircraft noise at Dublin Airport reducing by almost 50% between 2019 and 2022. We will continue to do more with our local communities in the years ahead.?

It is a reality that Ireland is - and always will be - a proud island nation, so ensuring international connectivity by air will always be vital. When you then consider that Ireland's population is forecast to grow by around 25% by the end of the decade, it’s clear that the importance of our airports is only going to increase. Indeed, Dublin Airport as the country’s main gateway will need to be able to accommodate 40 million passengers per annum by 2030 just to keep pace with population growth.

daa is absolutely not about growth at all costs. We fully recognise that, together with our airline partners and the entire aviation ecosystem, we must play our part in a national effort to address climate change. The speedy approval of our Infrastructure Application will allow us to deliver on that.