Frayed relationship hobbles airport expansion

Airports are complex organisations whose smooth operation requires the careful management of myriad interactions between consumers, retailers, airline operators, border control and customs and regulators. And, then, there is a fine balance between what is a major piece of infrastructure and its neighbours.

In the case of Dublin Airport, that relationship seems a little frayed right now. The airport’s operator, DAA, and Fingal County Council are at loggerheads over several issues.

Fingal County Council recently turned down plans for an expansion of the airport’s United States Customs Pre-Clearance and Border Protection facility.

Pre-clearance has been one of Dublin Airport’s biggest selling points in attracting business from both passengers and airlines in recent years. That popularity, however, means it is now too cramped for the number of passengers it is processing.

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Expansion required planning permission which Fingal has turned down on what appears to be very tenuous grounds of traffic concerns around the airport.

There’s a whiff of retaliation in the move from a local authority frustrated by what it sees – with some justification – as the airport operator’s attempt to ride roughshod over agreed planning controls.

When the airport secured planning permission for a new runway way back in 2007, it was agreed that not only would it not be used for night flights but that flights from the existing runway would be limited overnight. Fifteen years later, as the new runway opened, flight traffic had grown so substantially that those restrictions would require a culling of 49 flights a day.

An expanding city meant many more homes had been built close to flight approaches and residents were understandably sensitive about noise.

The DAA did try to secure approval to amend the conditions but has not succeeded in doing so. It insists modern aircraft are quieter but has not yet implemented the network of sensors to prove its case.

[ Dublin Airport operator secures stay over council’s decision on night-time flights ]

Ultimately, it appeared to decide simply to ignore the rules and, one year on, the exasperated local authority issued enforcement notices. Both sides are now gearing up for a legal battle.

As the main airport in a State that relies on inward investment and tourism, Dublin Airport is a critical piece of national infrastructure. It should reasonably expect that planners would work to try to accommodate the evolving nature of its business – and its contribution to the local economy.

Equally, the airport must respect the community in which it sits. It knew the conditions around the new runway and how untenable those were becoming. It had time to invest in gathering the evidence to make its case. It did not do so.

The current state of the relationship does neither side any credit.