In September 2023, Dublin Airport, which is controlled by the DAA, published its proposed airport charges for the March 2024 to March 2025 period.
In December last year, Ryanair formally complained to the Irish Aviation Authority, alleging that Dublin Airport had not fully complied with its obligations under an EU directive that regulates the essential features of airport charges across the trading bloc. Those rules apply to airports handling more than five million passengers a year.
The suite of airport charges that was proposed by Dublin Airport for the 2024-2025 period reflected the overall maximum permitted charge per passenger that was previously set by the Irish Aviation Authority.
While Ryanair – whose group chief executive is Michael O’Leary – made complaints to the IAA regarding the previous determination of overall charges at Dublin Airport, the relevant complaints considered by the IAA related to a transfer passenger charge, the runway movement charge, a low emissions aircraft discount scheme and a nitrogen oxide charge.
In a draft decision published in May this year, the IAA said that in respect of the four specific issues that Ryanair complained about, and which were considered by the IAA, it has not been “sufficiently demonstrated” that they are non-discriminatory and justified as being compliant with the appropriate laws.
“These charging modulations/differentiations need to be reassessed by Dublin Airport, with a view to addressing the various issues of transparency, relevance, and objectivity,” the IAA said in its draft decision.
The IAA proposed that reassessed charges by the DAA should be in effect for the upcoming winter season.
But in its final decision published on Monday, the IAA said it will not now force the DAA to reassess the charges for the upcoming winter period.
“Our final decision is that, rather than re-assessing the charges on an interim basis in time for winter 2024-2025, Dublin Airport should review the charges as part of the annual consultation process to take effect in time for the summer 2025 season, which commences on 30 March 2025,” the IAA said.
The DAA said in May that it believed it had undertaken the 2024 charges review in a proper manner.
“DAA is firm in its belief that the 2024 annual charges review was undertaken in an objective, transparent and compliant manner,” it said.