A slight dip in the number of overseas visitors travelling through Dublin Airport over the St Patrick’s Day period has been blamed on the passenger cap that has seen airlines cut capacity to and from the airport over the winter months.
From Wednesday of this week until next Tuesday about 400,000 passengers are expected to come and go, down from more than 410,000 who used Dublin Airport over the same period last year. “It’s clear that the cap is having an impact,” said the DAA’s spokesman Graeme McQueen.
In 2007 An Bord Pleanála set 32 million as the maximum number of passengers that Dublin could handle in a year, as a condition of allowing airport operator, DAA, to build Terminal 2. That limit is currently under appeal although the process is likely to take years before a resolution is reached.
Mr McQueen said the dip would come on the back of a quieter than usual Cheltenham Festival week, with numbers flying out of Dublin Airport to enjoy the annual horse racing festival in the UK also down due to the cap on slots for airlines this winter.
“Numbers coming to Ireland for St Patrick’s Day will be a little more subdued this year due to the passenger cap, which is currently limiting the number of flights that airlines can operate, while the number of people heading to Cheltenham this week is also down due to airlines not being able to operate as many flights as a result of the cap, which is resulting in higher air fares,” Mr McQueen said.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation acknowledged that the first months of the year have seen softer tourism numbers than last year.
He said airlines scheduled less capacity into Dublin between November and the end of April because of the cap
“If you look at the CSO numbers for January, they showed quite a sharp reduction with 25 per cent fewer international visitors in January who spent €28m less so it has been a soft start to the season but the US market is looking strong this year," he said.
Mr O’Mara Walsh suggested that the impact of trade tensions and the unpredictability of Donald Trump might not filter through to the holiday market until next year.
“Right now bookings from the US are pretty strong over the summer months and the dollar is still good against the euro and until quite recently as in the last 48 hours the US stock markets were doing really well.”
He said that the British and European market would probably prove to be a greater challenge this year.
While Dublin has recorded a slight fall in passenger traffic, passenger numbers going through Shannon Airport have trended in the opposite direction.
The airport is preparing to welcome almost 38,000 passengers through its doors over the St Patrick’s Day holiday period, which represents a 10 per cent increase compared with 2024 figures and “highlights the airport’s growing popularity with holiday travellers”, a spokeswoman said.
