Aer Rianta will seek a judicial review this week of the airport charges laid down by the aviation commissioner, Mr Bill Prasifka. The State airports operator confirmed yesterday that it would proceed with legal action before Thursday's deadline for it to do so.
"We are going ahead and we're preparing affidavits at the moment," said an Aer Rianta spokesman.
Aer Rianta said it would seek a review of the charges imposed at the three airports it operates - Dublin, Shannon and Cork.
Plans by Aer Rianta to invest almost £1 billion (€1.27 billion) at its airports were also rejected by the regulator. Mr Prasifka accused the State company of constructing inefficient facilities and reduced the average landing fee at Dublin Airport to £4.41 per passenger from £4.65. He sanctioned increases of up to an average of £5.29 per passenger from £4.65 in Cork and Shannon.
Expenditure by Aer Rianta of only £272 million could be justified in a capital programme worth £998 million, the regulator said. Mr Prasifka's determination on landing fees means that proposed capital expenditure of £726 million will not be recoverable against the fees charged to airlines, casting doubt on the plan which was designed to pave the way for a partial flotation on the stock exchange.
"We just don't accept the ruling of the regulator on the basis that we believe that we have to invest in the airports. That's our mandate and he's going to prevent us doing it," said the spokesman.
He said a decision to cancel airport investments at the time of the Gulf War led to an under-capacity at Dublin airport in recent years.
"We have to look at the long-term horizon," he said.
"We feel we cannot afford to hold up any longer our plans for extending capacity at the three airports."
The determination on airport charges will stand while Aer Rianta's appeal is being heard. The appeal must be heard within two months, the spokesman said.
