Ryanair: DAA 'Cowboys' TO PAY 'Indians' to use T2
20-Dec-2010 Ryanair, Dublin Airport’s largest airline, today (20th Dec) condemned the DAA monopoly for charging Irish passengers and tourists even higher airport fees so the DAA monopoly can pay Air India €6 for every transfer passenger that ‘toilet stops’ at its €1.2bn T2 Taj Mahal.
While the DAA is raising fees (again) for Irish passengers and visitors whose numbers continue to collapse, Air India will receive a €6 subsidy for every one of these 'toilet stop' transfer passengers yet Irish tourism will earn nothing from these passengers who must depart T2 within five hours of arriving.
Ryanair described the €1.2bn indebted DAA and the $1.2bn indebted Air India as 'perfect partners' since both are govt owned, massively loss making and need govt support and subsidies to survive - the DAA through Govt imposed airport fee increases and Air India through govt equity bailouts.
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said,
"From 1st January the DAA monopoly expects Irish consumers and visitors to pay even higher fees at Dublin Airport while they plan to use these higher charges to pay Air India €6 for every 'toilet stop' transfer passenger that drops in to use the loos in Dublin's €1.2bn T2 Taj Mahal.
India may be the home of the Taj Mahal, but these Air India passengers are sure to be impressed with the overspending and waste with which the DAA blew €1.2bn (six times over its original budget), on its T2 Taj Mahal.
While Air India will make T2 seem less empty their passengers will never leave the airport and will not contribute even €1 to Irish tourism. This is yet another insane policy of the Govt owned DAA airport monopoly that has caused the collapse of Irish tourism. Ryanair once again calls for the immediate break-up of the failed DAA monopoly, the sale of its airports and the introduction of competing terminals at the high cost, rapidly declining, Dublin Airport before Irish consumer are forced to pay higher fees to subsidise these Indian 'toilet breaks'."