Dublin Airport Charges To Remain Flat in 2012

There will be no overall increase in airport charges at Dublin Airport for next year under proposals that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has outlined to airlines today.

“Our pricing will be flat next year, which is good news for passengers and for airlines,” said DAA’s Director of Strategy, Vincent Harrison. “Independent surveys consistently confirm that Dublin Airport’s charges are hugely competitive, and our decision not to increase prices next year means we will continue to offer low prices compared to our peers,” Mr Harrison added.

DAA has today issued its 2012 pricing proposals to its airline customers as part of a consultation process on airport charges.

Charges at Dublin Airport are governed by the independent Commission for Aviation Regulation, which sets an annual price cap – the average maximum charge per passenger that can be levied – for the airport. Under the regulator’s formula, there is an increase in next year’s price cap, however DAA has decided not to pass on this increase to passengers and instead overall airport charges will remain flat for 2012.

The average passenger charge will be about €10.40 for this year and DAA has proposed that the maximum average charge for 2012 will remain at that level. Charges at Dublin Airport will therefore continue to be significantly cheaper than those at its peer airports throughout Europe.

Dublin’s proposed passenger charge for 2012 is 17% lower than the average €12.50 passenger charge levied in 2009 – the most recent year for which figures are available – by comparable European airports such as Stansted, Gatwick, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Zurich, Vienna, Munich, and Oslo.

International consultants who produce independent benchmark studies of European airport charges have also confirmed that Dublin’s charges are low.

• “The lowest passenger charges can be found at Dublin, Cologne, and at airports in Spain, as they were in 2009” (RDC European Airport Charges Monitor, 2010).
• Dublin’s charges are “towards the lower end of the spectrum when compared with European airports”. (Jacobs Consultancy, 2010,)

The proposals for 2012 include some rebalancing within the overall basket of charges to address the fact that demand is weaker during off-peak periods. The rebalancing will see airport charges reduced in the winter and increased by a lesser amount in the summer, with overall charges remaining flat for 2012.

“While certain parties will always claim otherwise, the facts show that Dublin Airport’s charges are hugely competitive,” Mr Harrison said. “Our aim is to continue to offer competitive airport charges and highly attractive incentive schemes to our airline customers at Dublin Airport and our plan to keep prices flat for next year is consistent with that approach.”

Aside from competitive passenger charges, the DAA also offers generous financial incentives at Dublin Airport to stimulate the launch of new short-haul and long-haul routes and support the expansion or reinstatement of capacity on markets that are already served.

Source: DAA