Ryanair announces schedule reductions at Dublin Airport

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (July 15) announced substantial capacity reductions at its Dublin base for the coming winter schedule (2008-9). Compared to last winter, when Ryanair operated 22 aircraft and over 1,350 weekly flights, Ryanair’s schedule at Dublin this winter will be reduced to 18 based aircraft and less than 1,200 weekly flights.

This represents an 18% reduction in based aircraft and an approximate 12% reduction in weekly flights. Ryanair estimates that its traffic at Dublin Airport this winter will decline by some 500,000 passengers compared to last winter’s schedule.

Ryanair’s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said: “We regret this significant capacity reduction at Dublin Airport this winter. It will be the first time for many years that Ryanair has reduced capacity at Dublin Airport. However, the combination of Dublin’s high costs (second most expensive base Ryanair operates to), unjustified cost increases (up 40% in the last 4 years) and a hopeless Aviation Regulator who has most recently rubber-stamped doubling charging for check-in desks and check-in kiosks, makes it more profitable for Ryanair to ground these aircraft rather than fly them at Dublin Airport this winter.

“These flights and 500,000 passengers would not be lost to Dublin or Irish tourism if the DAA monopoly had responded to Ryanair’s proposals for discounts on these flights for the winter season. Like all monopolies, the DAA has no concern for its customers which is why Ryanair’s offers were dismissed out of hand.

“If a competing second terminal was being built at Dublin Airport, as Seamus Brennan had proposed some years ago, airport charges at Dublin Airport would be falling and facilities would be improving. Instead, we have a Government-owned airport monopoly wasting money building facilities that the airlines don’t want and imposing massive cost increases at a time when fares are falling and oil prices have doubled to all-time highs.

“I have little doubt that Ireland and its tourism industry are facing a catastrophe over the coming year. Traffic growth at Dublin will be ended by this combination of a rapacious Government monopoly and an inadequate, useless Aviation Regulator. The sooner both of these are done away with and replaced with competing facilities at Dublin Airport, the sooner Dublin can return to traffic growth, lower costs and more efficient passenger-friendly facilities.”