Airport cap relevant factor in allocating slots
An adviser to the EU Court of Justice has found that a cap of 32 million passengers a year at Dublin Airport can be taken into account when allocating slots for airlines.
Advocate General (AG) Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona was giving his opinion on questions referred to the EU court by the High Court in a case taken by the DAA and airlines.
The airport authority and the airlines challenged restrictions imposed by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to prevent passenger numbers going beyond a cap of 32 million a year imposed by An Bord Pleanála as a condition of authorising the expansion of terminals at the airport.
The airlines argued that the limit was not a technical, operational, or environmental constraint that must be taken into account in allocating slots, and that the allocation of ‘historical slots’ could not be compromised, since it was a right enjoyed by the airlines.
‘Operating constraint’
In his opinion, Campos Sánchez-Bordona said that compliance with the cap could be classified as an ‘operating constraint’.
“The fact that the constraint in question comes from a State planning authority does not mean that it ceases to be an operational constraint.
“What is decisive is that it restricts airport ‘operational capacity’. It is therefore a relevant factor for the objective analysis of the possibilities of accommodating the air traffic,” he stated.
Slots ‘not property rights’
The advocate general also found that historical slots were not property rights, but authorisation to use airport infrastructure, and could not be granted in disregard of the airport’s capacity.
“Nor does the elimination or reduction of those slots in order to comply with the capacity of the airport compromise the freedom to conduct a business,” he added.
An advocate general’s opinion is not binding on the Court of Justice, which will deliver its ruling at a later date.
His opinion came as the Department of Transport published the General Scheme of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026, which was approved by Government earlier this week.
It gives the minister to the power to make an order to amend or revoke the passenger cap.