Airport operator DAA made €90 million in revenues last year from its car parks in Dublin and Cork, according to new disclosures in a document for its debt investors.
It marked a 3.4 per cent increase on 2024 and equated to an average of €1.73 million a week. It meant that its 27,049 short- and long-term public car parks in the two airports generated an average of close to €3,330 in 2025.
The car parking revenues equated to almost 8 per cent of the group’s total turnover of €1.18 billion, according to the new investor document, known as a prospectus, which gives some additional disclosures to its 2025 annual report published earlier this year.
The prospectus also said that DAA last year recorded €164 million of revenues from “non-retail” concessions such as the provision of car hire and foreign exchange facilities, as well as airport lounge activities, security fast track, advertising activities and airport-campus property rental activities at Dublin and Cork airports. That was up 7.8 per cent on the year.
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DAA’s travel-retail business ARI, which has direct and indirect interests in airport retailing concessions, businesses, joint ventures and management contracts in Europe, the Middle East, Canada, US and Barbados, posted consolidated turnover of €235 million last year, up 8.2 per cent year-on-year.
ARI includes a 20 per cent shareholding in Düsseldorf Airport in Germany and 11 per cent of Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus. The majority of ARI’s retail activities are subject to arrangements that are fixed period contracts that include guaranteed minimum concession fees or concession arrangements payable by subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures and other entities within ARI.
DAA International, which manages and operates King Abdulaziz International Airport and the Red Sea International Airport in Saudi Arabia and also provides consultancy and training services to airports in countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Canada, reported €47 million of revenues last year.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) proposed in July cutting charges levied by Dublin Airport on airlines to €8.58 per passenger next year, from €10.39 currently, despite a request from State company DAA to be allowed to increase charges to fund expanded facilities.
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Airlines have cut flights at Dublin Airport in response to surging fuel prices sparked by the US-Iran conflict, an escalation of the Ukraine war and economic uncertainty, DAA told the aviation authority in a formal response to the proposed cut in charges.
DAA wants to increase charges to a maximum of €13 a head up to 2031 to pay for a €5.6 billion expansion that will allow it to handle 10 million more passengers a year.
However, the IAA, which sets the airport’s charges, argued that as Dublin could grow to 44.5 million annual passengers from about 36 million, there will be more people to share the cost of the expansion, allowing DAA to reduce what it charges airlines for each individual.
