Aer Lingus urges greater expansion at Dublin Airport

THE continued development of Dublin Airport as a major European transatlantic hub could be worth €18.7bn (£16.7bn) to the Irish economy by 2033, according to a report.

And development could also add five million more passengers, according to the research for Aer Lingus by EY.

The report — released yester- day as Aer Lingus unveiled new routes from Dublin to Minneapolis/St Paul and Montreal — predicted that almost €10.5bn (£9.4bn) of the GDP boost would be in the tourism sector.

The study also predicted that the expansion of hub activities at Dublin would help create almost 34,000 jobs in the economy by 2033, with 27,000 of those in the tourism sector.

It also insists that the surge in hub activity would result in a €6bn (£5.4bn) boon to the Republic’s Exchequer between 2021 and 2033.

At the launch of the new routes — which will bring the total transatlantic network at Aer Lingus to 15 services — the airline’s chief executive, Stephen Kavanagh, cited a number of US and Canadian cities the carrier is likely to target. They include destinations such as Denver, Vancouver, Dallas and Las Vegas.

“With the appropriate infra- structure [at Dublin Airport], we have not put a constraint on the size of business that Aer Lingus can develop,” said Mr Kavanagh.

Aer Lingus currently has a 3% share of all passenger traffic between Europe and North America. “Why should we be comfortable with a 3% market share?” asked Mr Kavanagh.

Dublin already has one of the highest levels of connectivity with North America among European airports. The Montreal service will be the first of the airline’s routes to use the new Airbus A321LR aircraft.

Last year, Dublin Airport, which is controlled by the DAA, handled almost 30 million passengers, with 1.8 million of those using it as a hub to travel to onward destinations in North America or elsewhere in Europe.

That transfer passenger figure was up 32% compared to 2016.

The EY report predicts that about 24% of Dublin Airport’s passengers will be using it as a hub by 2033 and that 15% of all passengers will have an overnight stay in Dublin.

Aer Lingus has been a vocal critic of infrastructure development at Dublin Airport, while the DAA has countered that it is investing heavily in delivering vital assets such as aircraft stands.

“The opportunity will be forgone unless we can invest and build in a timely manner,” added Mr Kavanagh.