Carbon emissions from Dublin Airport are set to surge, after the de facto removal of the 32 million passenger cap.
Emissions from the hub will increase by about 4 million tonnes if Dublin Airport’s capacity rises to the 40 million passengers per year its management are targeting, according to a new report from Opportunity Green, an environmental group. The airport accounts for about 88 per cent of emissions from aircraft leaving Ireland, it added.
“Ireland cannot credibly claim climate leadership while simultaneously planning for continued growth in aviation emissions,” Sorcha Tunney of Opportunity Green Ireland said in a statement. “At precisely the moment Dublin Airport is facing running out of carbon budget, the Government is removing one of the only effective brakes on its expansion by lifting the passenger cap.”
The report underlines the environmental consequences of dropping the passenger cap, which had limited passenger numbers at Dublin Airport to 32 million per year. The Government has passed legislation to remove the cap, which had been imposed by An Bord Pleanála as a planning condition in 2007 as part of the construction of the second terminal building at the airport.
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The legislation gives the Minister for Transport the power to impose a cap in the future, which is seen as highly unlikely given the importance of air transport to the Irish economy in terms of tourism and foreign direct investment.
The report found Dublin Airport to be one of worst performers among the 20 biggest airports in Europe when it came to comparing expansion plans against a carbon budget that would prevent average temperatures rising by 1.7 degrees.
By 2050, the airport will be about 2.6 times over its carbon budget, the report added.
[ Dublin Airport reports record passenger numbers over ‘busiest ever summer season’Opens in new window ]
If the cap were to be increased ultimately to 60 million passengers per year, that would add about 14 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, according to the report.
Commenting on the report, a spokesman for DAA said: “The carbon budgets that the report talks about do not exist. While the report is dealing with hypotheticals, Dublin Airport is focused on the realities of meeting the actual public sector climate targets that have been set out for us in the National Climate Action Plan, targets which we are on track to meet, as verified by the SEAI. Aviation emissions are managed under international agreements (EU ETS and CORSIA) and not set by airports.”
The report comes days after the Irish Aviation Authority said it would allow as many as 28 more takeoffs and landings at Dublin Airport every day between March 28th and the end of October next year as part of its summer season slot allocation plans.
In its decision, which allows carriers to plan their schedules for the time ahead, the regulator said it would not take into account the passenger cap at Dublin Airport as the High Court had already put a stay on the limit being enforced.
[ DAA asks Minister to formally increase Dublin Airport passenger cap to 40mOpens in new window ]
Airlines and businesses had all lobbied for the removal of the cap once it became clear passenger numbers at the airport were set to exceed the legal capacity in recent years.
This story was updated on 16 September 2026 to reflect that An Bord Pleanala set the 32 million passenger cap, not Fingal County Council.
