Pilots and north Dublin residents groups have vowed to fight plans to open a new €130 million runway at Dublin Airport. Pilots claim the runway will be too small, while residents deem it "unnecessary".
The Dublin Airport Authority announced plans yesterday that it was to seek planning permission for the runway which it is said will increase jobs created by the airport by up to 30 per cent.
Pilots are concerned about the plans for the runway but because they believe it will not be big enough to accommodate modern aircraft.
A spokesperson for the Irish Airline Pilot's Association told RTE that the runway was going to be too short and narrow to deal with the new breed of passenger plane, due to be in use by 2006.
Captain Evan Cullen said this morning that building this runway, as now planned, is akin to creating a new Red Cow roundabout, as it will be almost obsolete by the time it is completed.
"We believe an additional 7.5 metres of shoulder area should be provided on both sides of the runway, for protection against engine jet blasts and support for rescue and fire fighting vehicle equipment," said Captain Cullen.
"The runway that is being proposed won't serve the needs of the 21st Century. The point is, we are starting from a green fields site, we should be building a runway for the 21st Century, for 21st Century aircraft, in a 21st Century economy."
Responding to Captain Cullen's comments, Dublin Airport Director Mr Robert Hilliard said that the runway will serve Irish needs.
"The runway will be wide enough to accommodate these new large aircraft. They already exist....so we can already handle them as they are," said Mr Hilliard.
"We are going to ask for 60 metre wide runway, which is in fact what the international governing body suggests you should have for a Code F aeroplane."
A Portmarnock residents group has described the decision as "totally unnecessary" and said it will lobby Fingal County Council to refuse permission.
The Dublin Airport Authority claims that a new runway is essential to deal with the imminent rise in passengers passing through the airport over the coming years.
Mr Hilliard said it will lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs.
"This is a project of major local and national importance," he said.
It is estimated that the 120 companies based at Dublin Airport support some 12,000 jobs on the 3,000-acre site and a total of 39,000 nationally. Dublin Airport-related economic activity accounts for 1.3 per cent of GNP per annum, according to the authority.
Mr Hilliard said the proposed new runway would facilitate additional aircraft and passenger traffic and support "a significant increase in overall employment and annual income".
The airport authority is "acutely aware" of the impact development will have on the local area and that it was the company's social responsibility not only to provide transport in and out of the area but also to balance that in terms of what it does to local communities, Mr Hilliard added.
"We are very mindful of our responsibility to local communities on air quality, water quality and so on," he said.
It is projected that some 17.1 million passengers will use Dublin Airport this year, an increase of 1.2 million on 2003.
The Environmental Impact Assessment information is on display at the Great Southern Hotel at Dublin Airport until Friday.