Ryanair said it had cut close to one in 10 planned summer 2026 flights from Dublin Airport, blaming Government failure to axe the 32 million a year limit on passengers there.
The airline, Europe’s biggest, said it had not cut flights or schedules in response to the crisis in the Middle East, which has sparked fears of a squeeze on jet fuel supplies.
Figures from air travel industry data firm OAG indicated Ryanair reduced planned summer flights from Irish airports for this year by around 4,500, to 84,600, between January and this month.
Ryanair said it originally planned to grow traffic at Dublin Airport by 10 per cent this summer, but dropped those plans “due to the continuing failure of the Government to scrap the Dublin traffic cap”.
Instead the airline’s capacity at the country’s biggest airport would be the same as last year’s, the company said.
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“We cannot invest in growth at Dublin until this cap is abolished and [airport operator] the DAA extends its growth incentive schemes,” Ryanair said.
Ryanair is Dublin Airport’s biggest airline, responsible for around 19 million of the 36.4 million total that passed through the airport last year.
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The carrier said it had not cut flights or schedules in response to the crisis in the Middle East.
“But we continue to monitor the situation closely and hope that the Hormuz Straits will reopen soon,” the airline said.
The United States and Israel have attacked Iran, resulting in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transits.
Ryanair has hedged 80 per cent of its fuel needs for this year, which the airline said was aiding it in growing market share in the crisis.
Earlier on Thursday the group welcomed a European Court of Justice ruling confirming that €6 billion in Covid-related state aid given by Germany to airline Lufthansa was illegal.
Ryanair said such support damaged competition, hurt consumers and rewarded inefficiency.
