Transforming Dublin Airport

It is perhaps worth remembering that one of the principal drivers of the Transforming Dublin Airport Programme from 2005 onwards, was the problem of severe congestion at peak periods throughout the airport buildings and on the airfield.

In 2005, when the Irish Government’s Aviation Action Plan directed the DAA to invest in significant new facilities at Dublin Airport, including a new passenger terminal, annualised passenger numbers amounted to 18.5m.

While the severity of the current global economic downturn caused passenger numbers at Dublin Airport to fall to 20.5m in 2009 and to fall again in early 2010, it is unlikely volumes will fall below the 18.5m threshold experienced in 2005.

Renewed traffic growth is currently anticipated in 2011, reflecting an upturn in the Irish economy and those of its major trading partners. It is also the case, despite the downturn, that the pressure on facilities at peak travel periods remains as challenging as ever.

Therefore, the underlying imperative that set the investment programme in train, namely to provide space, comfort and service standards to the users of a large international airport such as Dublin, remains as valid today as it was five years ago.

The Transforming Dublin Airport Programme is also a key investment in the future, not only for Dublin Airport, but for the Irish economy.

Dublin Airport is the gateway for 75% of people entering and exiting the Republic of Ireland and for over 60% of those arriving and departing the entire island.
Given that Ireland is an island and that overseas trade and tourism represent such sizeable elements of its economic activity, it is critical that the country’s key gateway has the infrastructure in place to facilitate efficient expansion over time and to proactively attract new passenger and freight carriers and routes.