Ryanair: Dublin Airport traffic plunges 15% in May-2010
28-Jun-2010 Dublin Airport traffic plunges 15% in May-2010, as €10 tourist tax and DAA's high prices damage Irish tourism
Ryanair, Ireland's favourite airline, today (28th June) called on the Irish Govt to end the crisis in Irish tourism by scrapping its €10 tourist tax and reversing the DAA's 40% price increases of 2010 before airlines complete their 2010 winter schedules, which look set to result in more cuts at the DAA's high cost Irish airports.
Ryanair made the call as Dublin Airport reported a 15% (272,000 passengers) fall in May traffic. If these declines continue through 2010, Dublin Airport's traffic will fall to less than 17m passengers, having already collapsed to 20.5m in 2009 from 23.5m. While Dublin Airport was losing over 270,000 passengers in May, Ryanair grew by more than 900,000 passengers thanks to its lower fares and efficient services.
|
Passengers
|
2009
|
2010
|
Fall/Rise
|
|
Dublin Apt
|
1.84m
|
1.57m
|
-272,000 (-15%)
|
|
5.51m
|
6.44m
|
+930,000 (+17%)
|
Ryanair called on the Irish Govt to follow the lead of other EU countries such as Holland and Belgium who have scrapped tourist taxes and returned to growth. Ryanair also called for the break-up of the high cost DAA monopoly, which is presiding over record traffic declines at Dublin Airport, at a time when many other European airports have returned to growth.
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said:
"It's bad enough that the Govt's €10 tourist tax caused a 3m traffic collapse in 2009 but now it's clear that 2010 will see further record declines in Irish tourism while the rest of Europe returns to growth. If current losses continue then Dublin Airport's traffic will fall below 17m passengers in 2010. This, at a time when capacity in the existing terminal is 30m passengers and the DAA are about to open the €1.2bn white elephant Terminal 2, with capacity for another 30m passengers.
"Airlines are now finalising their winter schedules and the Govt must act to save tourism and passenger numbers by scrapping this suicidal €10 tourist tax and reversing the DAA's 40% price increases. It is extraordinary that Dublin Airport will lose 3m passengers this year when Ryanair is growing by over 7m passengers annually. Clearly the Ryanair formula works, whereas the Govt and DAA monopoly's policy of targeting tourists with taxes and high airport charges doesn't."