Dublin Airport in charges row

The full benefits of Dublin’s new north runway project risk being lost because airport operator DAA will be unable to fund further investments if a proposed 22% cut in charges is imposed, DAA CEO Dalton Philips warned last week.

Pouring of pavement quality concrete, the top layer of the new runway, which is more than six times longer than Dublin’s O’Connell Street, is due to begin next week in a key milestone for the €320m project.

Philips said: “North Runway is an essential development for the Irish economy and will help to underpin additional trade, foreign direct investment and tourism for decades to come.

However, he added: “The full economic benefits of the new runway risk being squandered in the medium term, as Dublin Airport will be unable to afford the investment urgently needed in other facilities.”

Calling for Ireland’s Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) to reverse its plan to cut airport charges by 22%, Philips said DAA had intended to invest almost €2bn to improve and expand facilities while keeping airport charges flat for the next five years.

However, due to the regulator’s plans “and the uncertainty they have created”, this next phase of development had now been stood down.

www.daa.ie

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