Chai Brady
If Dublin airport’s passenger cap is not lifted there will be a “big reduction” in the number of charter flights taking pilgrims to holy sites around the world, the CEO of the DAA, the company that owns and operates Dublin Airport and Cork Airport, has warned.
Mr Kenny Jacobs told The Irish Catholic he has been “kicking doors in” for clarity on the growth restrictions which could see pilgrims “highly impacted”.
He also warned “if you had a major religious event or a major sporting event being hosted in Ireland and a lot of charter fights wanted to come, with the passenger cap in place, they can’t get in.”
Mr Jacobs explained: “About two-thirds of pilgrim flights are charter flights. The passenger cap impact is that charter flights are the first things to go. So if we’re stuck at a certain level, the airlines that have their slots to places like Heathrow, like Charles de Gaulle, they keep those, but the charter operators can’t get special flights to go to pilgrim destinations and then the airlines can’t add them.
“Sporting events and then special events, like pilgrim flights, would be highly impacted by the passenger cap. If the cap stayed in place forever, you would see a big reduction in the number of pilgrim flights which would be a problem,” he said.
Passenger numbers are capped at 32 million a year under a 2007 planning condition attached to the construction of Terminal 2. In 2024 the airport is believed to have dealt with 34 million passengers, with Mr Jacobs believing this will increase to 35 million this year.
In November, a High Court decision saw a stay granted against a decision by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to restrict the number of take-off and landing slots that would be available at Dublin Airport for the 2025 summer season. It is unclear whether this will be extended for the 2025 winter season.
Mr Jacobs added that pilgrimage is “massively important”.
“At certain times, in September and October, if I’m walking around the airport, on average I will see three groups of pilgrims heading on different flights,” he said.
“I’m delighted that this is an airport for pilgrims of all faiths… I love interacting with those groups, they’re positive people. It’s great interacting with them when they come back as you can sometimes meet the same people, and you can tell they feel more powerful coming back, it’s wonderful to see.”