Business travellers face soaring air fares on the back of the contentious passenger limit at Dublin Airport, according to a global leader in the industry.
Planners capped numbers at the State’s biggest airport at 32 million a year under a 2007 planning permission to ease fears of congestion on roads to the gateway.
Now business travel between Ireland and Britain faces major disruption as a consequence, with small and medium-sized firms likely to come off worst, says global corporate specialist FCM Travel.
Andy Hegley, the company’s Europe managing director, calculates that the price of tickets between Dublin and London rose nearly 24 per cent last month compared with the same period in 2023.
“As capacity continues to shrink, we expect those prices could rise even further,” he predicted on Tuesday.
FCM’s warning comes as a new winter limit of 14.4 million, imposed by regulators as a consequence of the cap, comes into effect.
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“Travel is a necessity, not a discretionary spend, for corporates,” said Mr Hegley, adding that it was key to businesses finding new customers and growing. “Without lifting the current passenger cap, small businesses will feel the impacts the most,” he argued.
FCM Travel is the flagship corporate division of Sydney Stock Exchange-listed Flight Centre Travel Group. It is one of the world’s biggest travel management companies with businesses in more than 95 countries and has more than 68 Irish-based clients, including multinationals and smaller organisations.
Mr Hegley noted that Dublin-London bookings have rebounded to pre-Covid levels, up 8 per cent year-on-year between April and September.
“Over one-third of Irish exports go to the UK and it’s an especially important market for small businesses who are looking to expand,” he said.
His firm echoed the State airports’ company DAA’s prediction that the cap could cost the Republic €500 million in lost business. According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics body, the average business traveller spends €174 a night, more than twice the €81 spent by leisure tourists.
Predictions of damage to business travel will add to the pressure on Government to lift the cap, which has angered airlines and the hospitality industry.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and his department maintain that they cannot interfere in the planning process.
The DAA has sought permission from local planning authority Fingal County County Council to lift the cap to 40 million.
The Irish Aviation Authority has limited airlines at Dublin to take off and landing slots that will accommodate a maximum of 14.4 million passengers between this month and late March.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, says that legislation allows the Minister to get around this by directing the authority to issue new slots to any airline seeking them. However, the department says this power only relates to general policy, not operational issues.
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