Ireland: IDA chief warns of investment hit if Dublin runway restrictions not lifted

IDA CE Martin Shanahan has expressed concern that restrictions on Dublin Airport’s new E320m runway could hinder foreign direct investment (FDI) growth here. The IDA submission is part of a surge of submissions lodged with Fingal County Council on the runway issue, with some of the worlds’s largest airlines registering their support for DAA’s application to have two planning restrictions on the 2007 permission for the north runway lifted. Some 13 carriers, including Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Qatar Air, AirFrance/KLM, Emirates, Etihad Air, Stobart Air and Ireland’s newest airline, Emerald Airlines, have written to the council to support DAA’s application. The planning conditions specify that the runway will not be used at night between 11pm and 7am and that night-time operations not exceed 65 flights on average when it is complete. The runway is expected to be operational next year and DAA is seeking that the new 3.1km runway be used between 6am and midnight and that a noise quota system, which applies at airports such as Heathrow, Brussels and Madrid would be used to dictate the number of night-time flights. Fingal County Council had received 161 submissions by mid-afternoon on Monday, the closing date for parties to contact it on the matter. Shanahan warned that the operating restrictions could “reduce economic capacity and hinder growth in FDI by unduly restricting a key infrastructure asset”.<br/>