The CEO of Kerry Airport has written to the Taoiseach expressing his concerns around the impact the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is having.
There’s an annual 32 million passenger limit in place at Dublin Airport
CEO of Kerry Airport Ireland John Mulhern says this is directly and indirectly impacting regional airports.
In a letter sent to Taoiseach Simon Harris, John Mulhern says thousands of visitors arrive into Ireland by air, adding many more multiples arrive into Kerry via Dublin Airport.
He outlines a number of issues, which he says he believes are evolving due to the passenger cap at the capital’s airport.
John Mulhern says he fears any opportunity for quantifiable growth in regional airports is currently diminished.
Mr Mulhern says a theme emerging in discussions with potential airlines shows they seem reluctant to risk financing a new route at a regional airport in the absence of growth capacity at Dublin Airport. He says airlines typically consider regional airports when the central hub has healthy growth to support financing the risk.
The Kerry Airport CEO also says there’s a concern in this county that the Kerry to Dublin route might suffer, if the carrier considers directing those slots towards more lucrative destinations given the absence of any other route growth at Dublin Airport.
John Mulhern says the loss of these flights would have a devastating impact on business and tourism here; he adds tourism growth into Ireland via Dublin is essential to the economy of rural Ireland and should be encouraged rather than inhibited.
The Kerry Airport CEO is appealing that a solution is urgently found to enable growth at Dublin Airport, even temporarily.
