Dublin Airport seeks extension of five years

DUBLIN, Ireland - The Dublin Airport Authority has filed an application at the Fingal County Council requesting a five-year extension in its planning permission to construct a new north runway at the Dublin Airport.

The permission was originally granted for ten years. 

The runway was proposed to cost around 320 million euros in 2007. However, the downturn of the global economy then led the construction to be halted.

A DAA spokesperson said, “With the Irish economy in recovery and passenger numbers at Dublin Airport at record levels, last year DAA took the decision to begin work on the development. It was not possible to implement the permission due to the severe economic, commercial and financial recession which hit the global economy and Ireland in 2008. It was not prudent to proceed with the North Runway project."

The DAA feels a five-year extension should ensure the completion of the project. The original permission otherwise is set to end this year in August.

Meanwhile, traffic at the Dublin Airport has been on the rise. Nearly 28 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport in the past year. 

This marked a whopping 11 percent increase in traffic compared to last year. 

Out of these, 24.3 million were short-haul passengers, while 3.6 million were passengers on long-haul flights.

In fact, both 2015 and 2016 were important years in setting new records, with traffic growing by as much as 29 percent over the two year period.

The latest update on traffic has prompted CEO of Dublin Chamber of Commerce to call on Minister of Transport, Shane Ross to raise the speed of development of the metro north rail, which stretches from the city centre to the airport.

She has pointed out that in response to the rise in traffic, the airport has prioritized the construction of a new runway.

Meanwhile, Metro North is expected to begin construction in 2021, while it is supposed to begin operation by 2026/27.

Ross has also said that before Christmas, he wanted to ensure that a new runway was developed by 2020. 

He mentioned he also wanted to speed up construction of a new terminal.

Ross has also decided to carry out a capacity review of Irish state airports given the rise in number of passengers. 

He also considers construction of three new airports by 2050.