Airlines warn of hit to Irish economy from Dublin passenger cap

A passenger cap at Dublin Airport is set to damage Ireland's economy and harm plans to expand the country's dominant airport into an international aviation hub, Irish airline bosses and the airport's CEO warned on Thursday. The number of passengers at the airport, which carries around 80% of the country's air passengers, was capped at 32m when planners approved the construction of a second terminal in 2007, in part to avoid local road congestion. The airport on Thursday warned it was on course to overshoot that by a million passengers this year after a record September, despite having reduced passenger numbers across the year by approximately 650,000. Airlines fear this year's overrun could be clawed back through a corresponding cut in capacity in 2025. While a planning application has been lodged to lift the cap to 40m, the process is widely expected to take years, prompting executives to call on the government to take action. The government has repeatedly said that it has no powers to intervene in the planning process. "Let's not make Ireland the laughing stock of Europe," Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary said at a news conference, adding the reasons for the cap had lapsed. "The road traffic is not an issue, and therefore we believe this restriction should be lifted."<br/>