“I wish to assure you that it is not government policy to 'cap' passenger traffic at Dublin Airport,” said Ethna Brogan, director general for civil aviation at the Department of Transport in a letter to the US Department of Transportation. Last year, Dublin Airport handled 36.4 million passengers, however. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) had previously moved to limit the number of available take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport in order to ensure the airport adhered to the cap. She added: “Contrary to the argument made by the complainants, the withdrawal of historic slots at Dublin airport does not constitute a unilateral limit on air travel to Ireland. “First, it seeks to raise the existing planning condition passenger cap to facilitate more passengers at the airport, contrary to the suggestion of some latent government policy in support of the cap.

Source: Irish Independent January 30, 2026 00:07 UTC