It could be 2030 before Dublin Airport cap is raised to 40m, DAA chief claims

It could be 2030 before Dublin Airport gets planning permission to grow passenger numbers to 40m, Kenny Jacobs, head of DAA, has told the Sunday Business Post. In the meantime, the airport will welcome 20,000 fewer tourists for St Patrick’s Day celebrations this week as capacity constraints at the airport continue, he said. In recent weeks Jacobs has spoken to two big US airlines who “can’t get their head around the winter cap” that is currently in place. Jacob’s warning comes as Darragh O’Brien, the new transport minister, is to meet attorney general Rossa Fanning in the coming days to find a “viable but sustainable” solution to removing the passenger cap, the Business Post can confirm. Taoiseach Micheál Martin will cite the contribution of big Irish-based companies like Ryanair and Aercap in defence of Ireland’s trade surplus with the US, when he meets US president Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington DC, the Sunday Business Post is reporting. Officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs have drawn up an extensive document outlining Ireland’s economic footprint in the US, which shows there are 203,000 employees in Irish-owned companies in the US. Companies identified as having a big footprint already in the US by officials include Eaton, Kingspan, and Kerry Group.<br/>