Dublin Airport stops work on expansion over plan to cut passenger charges

Dublin Airport is halting work on a E2b expansion following regulators’ proposals to cut the gateway’s passenger charges, hitting projects needed to accommodate record numbers of air travellers. The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), which determines what Dublin Airport charges airlines for the passengers they fly from there, recently proposed cutting the levy to E7.50 a head for 2020-2024 from E9.30 currently. Dalton Philips, CE of the airport’s owner, DAA, has told senior staff that the State company’s board is “standing down” work on a planned E2b expansion timed for 2020-2024, blaming the uncertainty created by the CAR. Philips points out in a memo to senior colleagues that DAA’s investment plans depend on charges staying close to E9.65 a head, its 2018 cap, for the next five years. He states that the CAR’s proposal to cut the levy by 22% means “it would not be prudent to progress the capital investment plan” at Dublin Airport, where airlines warn bottlenecks are already causing delays. A record 30m people travelled through there last year.<br/>