Ryanair calls on DAA to explain why Aer Lingus receives incentives, while cutting traffic

Our incentives are structured to ensure that airlines cannot qualify for tens of millions of euro in discounts unless they deliver new passengers".

At yesterday morning's meeting with Ryanair, Mr Collier confirmed that Aer Lingus, who have been cutting traffic at Dublin Airport in 2010 and again in 2011, were receiving transfer passenger discounts, while delivering no new passengers. Mr Collier also refused to confirm what routes or what airlines were receiving this transfer passenger subsidy.

The DAA should now explain why airlines like Aer Lingus who are cutting traffic at Dublin Airport, are receiving "growth subsidies", but Ryanair, when it offered up to 4m passenger growth (when Dublin Airport has lost 5m passengers over the last two years), has been told that it cannot receive these same incentives.

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said:

"It appears that Declan Collier and the DAA operate one incentive scheme for airlines like Aer Lingus who are cutting traffic and a different incentive scheme for airlines like Ryanair, who offer rapid traffic, tourism and jobs growth at Dublin Airport.

"The DAA are at it again. Last year when Ryanair offered 600 new engineering jobs in Hangar 6, the DAA leased the facility to Aer Lingus as a Head Office, with no new job creation. Now the DAA are giving growth discounts to Aer Lingus, who are cutting traffic at Dublin Airport, but refusing to apply the same discounts when Ryanair offers to deliver 4m extra passengers annually.

"Perhaps Mr Collier, if he can tear himself away from another AIB Board meeting, might explain his claim that airlines cannot qualify for discounts, unless they deliver new passengers, when yesterday he confirmed that Aer Lingus were receiving these discounts, while cutting traffic."