Ireland's Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin International) and Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) have welcomed a decision by the country's High Court to stay the implementation of a 25.5 million passenger cap at Dublin International for the 2025 summer season pending the outcome of a judicial review.
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said the court's ruling cleared the way for the matter to be referred to European Union courts. "Ryanair welcomes this sensible ruling as it believes that the Dublin Airport cap is in breach of EU legislation on freedom of movement," the airline said in a statement.
Aer Lingus said it would assess the full implications of the stay being granted, including any potential impact on decisions the slot coordinator for Dublin Airport might take as a result.
The two airlines and lobby group Airlines for America (A4A) had brought an urgent application over the restriction set by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which would have run from late March to October 2025. The IAA stated the cap was necessary to comply with a 2007 planning condition that imposed an annual passenger limit of 32 million to manage capacity constraints.
In its High Court application, Aer Lingus argued the passenger cap could result in a loss of up to EUR84 million euros (USD90 million) in revenue, with this figure expected to increase each year. Ryanair said that it could lose EUR50 million (USD53 million), reported The Journal.
In a joint statement, transport minister Eamon Ryan and junior minister James Lawless said the decision brought clarity and would allow further discussions to find a solution that balanced planning requirements with air connectivity.
