DUBLIN AIRPORT has recorded an increase in passenger numbers for the first time since last autumn after a high court ruling suspended an existing passenger cap.
April marked the first month that the limit on the number of travellers that could come through the airport was removed.
As a result, the airport saw passenger numbers increase by 7.8 per cent to 2.9million, following three consecutive months of zero growth at the start of 2025.
In April Ireland's High Court extended its suspension of a passenger cap which has previously limited the airport to 32 million passengers per year.
The court order has suspended any enforcement of the limit on airline slots pending the outcome of a legal challenge against the cap by a number of airlines which has been referred to the EU courts.
Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa, which runs both Dublin and Cork airports, said the figures show the limit to be a “zombie passenger cap”.
“April was the first month of 2025 in which passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were not artificially constrained given there was a limit on the number of slots that airlines could access over the winter period due to the passenger cap,” he said.
“The 7.8 per cent growth in April shows the high level of pent-up demand that's out there - both from passengers and airlines - to fly in and out of Dublin Airport."
He added: "With the cap at Dublin Airport having been referred to Europe, and with airlines consequently being able to keep filing for slots, the passenger cap is effectively now a zombie cap and the bigger issue for Ireland is that conversations need to switch to how planning in Ireland can go faster.
“While some stakeholders insist on putting up barriers as opposed to solutions and hiding behind no-longer-fit-for-purpose processes, all minds now need to focus on identifying answers that will eradicate the zombie passenger cap once and for all and most importantly speed up planning.
“Dublin Airport is on track to handle more than 36 million passengers in 2025 and it has the capacity to comfortably do so.
“But the clock is ticking on how long Dublin Airport will be able to accommodate the growth opportunities that are coming Ireland's way without the addition of the new departure gates, aircraft stands and passenger infrastructure it will need in the near future."
See More: DAA, Dublin Airport, Passenger Cap
