www.Parctel.com: Ryanair, Dublin Airport's largest airline user confirmed that it will continue to oppose the gold plated €609m second terminal (T2) (€760m with the redundancy of the €150m Pier C) proposed by the DAA monopoly at Dublin Airport - because it costs 10 times more than similar sized facilities being provided at other airports in Europe and will lead to passenger charges doubling at Dublin Airport.
The DAA monopoly should not be allowed to waste €609m building a 15m passenger facility when Frankfurt Hahn can build a similar 15m passenger terminal for just €60m - less than one tenth the cost of the proposed T2 Taj Mahal at Dublin Airport. As a result of this 10 times more expensive building at Dublin and other wasteful spending, the Aviation Regulator has indicated that passenger fees at Dublin will double from a current €5.50 to around €11.00.
There would be no need for any increase in passenger charges at Dublin Airport if the DAA built a low cost efficient terminal, which is what its major airline users have already confirmed that they want to see developed. At a time when Aer Lingus, for example, is trying to reduce unit costs, the DAA is proposing to double them at Dublin Airport.
If a competing second terminal was being developed by Ryanair, the McEvaddy's, or any of the other 13 parties who offered to do so, then there would be no increase in passenger charges. In fact competition between an independent terminal and the DAA would reduce these high passenger charges and improve the awful facilities at Dublin Airport.
Speaking today Ryanair, Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary said:
"It is vital that the mess which the DAA have created at Cork Airport is not repeated at Dublin. In Cork, the DAA wasted €200m building a new terminal for just 3m passengers. This was 10 times more than the €20m which Cork's terminal should have cost. Now Cork Airport is stuck with a €200m debt which it can never repay.
"Cork airport's terminal proves yet again that the DAA monopoly cannot be trusted to build cost efficient terminal facilities. It also proves that the Aviation Regulator is hopelessly unable to control the DAA monopoly. He's just a poodle, who rolls over every time the DAA wants to put up charges.
"Ryanair supports, and will happily pay for low cost, efficient facilities. We have already offered to build and pay for an independent second terminal at Dublin Airport. The fact that a 15m passenger terminal can be built in Frankfurt for €60m, proves that we are right and we will continue to oppose the DAA spending over ten times this amount - €609m - on a similar 15m passenger facility. We must prevent the DAA repeating its Cork Airport mess at Dublin. We must prevent the DAA monopoly (and the weak Aviation Regulator) from doubling charges for all consumers using Dublin Airport, when, if an efficient terminal was built or built by someone other than the DAA monopoly, then tourism traffic would continue to grow, but with lower airport charges and low fares for all Irish consumers and visitors".
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