Airport charges look set to rise by up to 9 per cent at Dublin Airport following a review by the Commission for Aviation Regulation.
The latest annual review by Mr William Prasifka's office allows Aer Rianta to levy an average airport charge of up to €5.45 per passenger. Up to now the company has been charging, on average, €5 per passenger at Dublin.
While Aer Rianta has declined to comment on the precise charge it will impose for the rest of 2003 and most of 2004, it is likely to come very close to the new €5.45 per passenger limit.
The company has complained for a long time that it should have more flexibility in what it is allowed charge.
If it avails of the new limits, the airport authority could recover over €85 million from the airlines using Dublin.
This is based on the 16 million passengers expected to use the airport in the next year.
Mr Prasifka said one of the major factors behind this year's review was the €2.5 million cost of the High Court action between his office and Aer Rianta.
He said the final awarding of these costs was pending and if costs were awarded to his office, it should force the charges down in future reviews. He said this was because some of the costs of running his office were recovered via airport charges.
The other factors cited in the review were: rising inflation and increasing bond rates.
The airlines, particularly Ryanair, are likely to be unhappy about any rise, although the impact will vary depending on how many flights airlines put through Dublin and the size of the aircraft.
Aer Rianta reacting to the new review said: "We have noted the new maximum charge for Dublin Airport and the company plans an in-depth consultation process with the airlines over the coming weeks."
Mr Prasifka emphasised that this annual review was entirely separate from the much broader review of his original determination on airport charges made in August 2001.
He hopes to make progress on this wider review in the coming weeks. It deals with the basic fundamentals underpinning the Aer Rianta charging structure.
Mr Prasifka's office, the Commission for Aviation Regulation, is charged under the Aviation Regulation Act 2001 to specify the maximum level of airport charges which can be imposed by Aer Rianta.
In the latest review, he acknowledges the company has abided by the limits set for 2002/2003.
Aer Rianta and Mr Prasifka have been locked in a legal tussle for several years over the scope of Mr Prasifka's powers.
Apart from the rising legal costs, the overall cost of running Mr Prasifka's office has increased between 2002 and 2003. The 2002 budget came to €3.2 million, while the budget forecast for 2003 is €5.8 million.
The amount of money spent on professional advisers has risen from €190,000 to more than €1 million. This is because the amount of activity at his office has greatly increased.
