Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has criticized the planning authority’s policy of limiting passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, potentially hindering plans for direct flights from Dublin to destinations like India. Dublin Airport Authority, which manages the airport, is nearing its annual passenger capacity of 32 million, with 25 million passengers in the first nine months of 2023.
Varadkar emphasized the importance of Dublin Airport as the country’s primary gateway and expressed concerns that restricting passenger numbers might deter airlines from starting or expanding direct routes to and from Ireland. He urged the planning authority to reevaluate its regulations, warning that airlines would choose other countries over Irish airports if limitations were imposed, potentially jeopardizing valuable routes.