EU Court Upholds Dublin Airport Passenger Cap (traveltourister.com)
The EU Court of Justice upheld Dublin Airport's 32 million passenger cap, confirming the An Bord Pleanála planning condition is legally enforceable and may affect slot allocation. Dublin is projected to handle 38–40 million passengers in 2026, six to eight million above the ceiling, threatening winter 2026 schedules. Ryanair, which carries over 15 million passengers through Dublin annually, condemned the ruling, while Aer Lingus transatlantic routes to New York JFK, Boston and Los Angeles face exposure.
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VendorsRyanair (Airline)
AirportsDUB (Dublin Airport)
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The judgment is narrower than a straight upholding of the cap: the court said a planning-consent passenger limit can count as a constraint when slot coordination parameters are set, and that in exceptional cases existing slot series may not be reallocated, leaving the Irish High Court to apply that to Dublin. RTÉ's explainer also notes the IAA isn't expected to allocate winter 2027 slots until May, and the transport minister now has statutory power to lift the cap, so the practical question is whether that process, and any challenge to it, finishes first.