Michael O'Leary says Ryanair has axed plans for more Dublin routes because of passenger cap

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary

FLANKED BY TWO young staff members holding cardboard cutouts of ministers Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary pulled faces and posed for photos while holding a picture of Dublin Airport with a sign saying “Sorry, we’re closed”.

O’Leary was his typical loud and boisterous self at a press conference in Dublin today, as he heaped criticism on Transport Minister Ryan and Tourism Minister Martin, who he said are failing to deliver growth in Ireland’s aviation industry.

The main point of the press conference was to call for the cap on passenger numbers at  Dublin Airport to be abolished. He described the cap as “artificial” and said it was causing Dublin to “lose out” to other European airports.

“Other airports in Europe are laughing at Dublin,” he said in reference to the traffic cap.

O’Leary called for emergency legislation that would abolish the cap, saying that “our two Green Party ministers” for tourism and transport “should go” if they can’t grow the aviation industry, accusing them of “faffing about”.

O’Leary said that Ryanair had been forced to abandon plans to base four planes at Dublin Airport and open 12 new routes because of the cap on traffic, which is set at 32 million passengers per year. He also pointed to the airport’s new runway, which he said was being underused due to the cap.

“Grow or go” was the message O’Leary had for the ministers, who he said had “failed to deliver” for Dublin Airport over the last four years.

Pointing to the the key goals of the Government’s National Aviation Policy, O’Leary said that Minister Ryan was failing to deliver on all of them.

Those goals, according to the Government’s plan, are the following:

To enhance Ireland’s connectivity by ensuring safe, secure and competitive access responsive to the needs of business, tourism and consumers.
• To foster the growth of aviation enterprise in Ireland to support job creation and position Ireland as a recognised global leader in aviation.
• To maximise the contribution of the aviation sector to Ireland’s economic growth and development.

O’Leary said he had been contacted by the transport minister and invited to meet him to discuss his issues with government policy. That meeting could take place next Thursday of Friday, he said.

O’Leary also riffed on some of his pet peeves, like airport noise complaints and environmental activists, as well as commenting on issues facing the airline industry, including recent Boeing and Airbus aircraft faults and the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.

He said relations between Boeing and Ryanair are improving but criticised the “managerial” communication style of company executives, and that Ryanair was expecting to receive around 40 aircraft from Boeing in the near future, about 10 fewer than expected.

Delivery of new Boeing 737 Max planes has been delayed due to technical faults.

O’Leary also said that the resulting shortfall in aircraft supply would affect Ryanair’s competitors more severely.