The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
WHILE there has been a certain amount of improvement in queueing times at Dublin Airport in recent days, scenes of congestion and stories of long waits will undoubtedly remain in the public’s mind for some time.
The difficulties at Dublin are in stark contrast to the ease of using Shannon, or indeed several other airports around the country.
Limerick Chamber of Commerce has now called on the Department of Transport to compel the DAA to work with other Irish airports to solve the difficulties and to ensure that passenger delays are minimised.
It’s a view that has previously been expressed by a number of political and business interests in the region, as Dublin has clearly been unable to cater for what it has, while Shannon badly needs more passengers.
Limerick Chamber CEO Dee Ryan said that the Department of Transport needs to take a role if Dublin is not willing to explore the possibility of flights going to other airports.
“Dublin Airport’s problems are not good for passengers, for Dublin Airport or our tourism reputation.
“There is an obvious solution here and that is to make use of the spare capacity of airports in other regions.
“If Dublin Airport won’t do this, the Department of Transport should step in and compel it to open conversations with Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports with a view to using their spare capacity.
“Not one of those airports are near capacity at present. Prior to Covid they were not near capacity, and they are still significantly off their pre-pandemic passenger numbers.
“So, right now they can alleviate the pressure on Dublin Airport and its staff, provide an important boost to business at those airports and a more comfortable experience for the traveling public.”
She feels it is time for a change in Irish aviation policy, given the extreme dominance of Dublin.
“We are not suggesting a short-term fix here but a meaningful look at services coming into and out of Ireland and being more strategic as to what airports are used for what flights. It’s an all-Ireland solution that we need to create, as distinct from a single or Dublin Airport centric one, which we currently have.”
She claimed that introducing diversions is the best thing for passengers.
“Diverting some services to Shannon, Cork, Knock and Kerry airports may inconvenience travellers originating in Dublin or with Dublin as their destination, but is not nearly as inconvenient as horrendously long queues and inadequate parking options currently being experienced in Dublin.
“A shuttle bus service could be provided to take crew and affected passengers down the motorway. Besides, we know that approximately half of those travelers are already coming from places outside of Dublin for their flights in the first instance. With enough notice, they could adjust plans.”
Ms Ryan said a change in thinking is required and said the extent of Dublin’s dominance of the Irish market is very unusual in international terms.
“The rest of the country have been inconvenienced by traveling to Dublin for decades for flights so it’s not inconceivable that the opposite would also happen.
“A Department of Transport official once remarked to me ‘there is a great motorway network to Dublin’. The reality, however, is that it goes in both directions and can also be used to access airports in the regions.
“Dublin Airport’s monopoly is way out of sync with international norms. If you look at Germany, for example, its fifth largest city, Frankfurt, has the country’s largest airport, with more than double the traffic levels of its capital and largest city, Berlin.”
She said that the recent difficulties were not very surprising given the increasing dominance of Dublin over the years, but she said things can and should change.
“The only silver lining in this cloud might be that the Department of Transport finally has its eyes opened to just how imbalanced aviation is in Ireland.
“The state must intervene with policies to direct or incentivise route connectivity to regional airports, as has happened in other EU countries, and begin to address Dublin airports’ severe and unhealthy monopoly on Irish aviation, in the best interest of passengers, other airports and development of the regions.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
