Willie Walsh keen to get 2nd Dublin runway, which has planning consent

Planning permission for a new east-west runway, 1.6 kilometres to the north and parallel to the existing main runway at Dublin airport was granted  in 2007 and remains valid till 2017.  However a new planning application may have to be lodged because the original permission contained 31 restrictive conditions including a requirement that no flights operate from the 2nd runway between 11pm and 7am. The airport’s busiest time is the hour between 6am and 7am so airlines say a ban before flights taking off then is “impractical.”  The runway cost has been estimated at  €300m.  The likelihood of it being built is considered higher now after the IAG takeover of Aer Lingus which includes plans to use Dublin airport to feed traffic from Europe to North America.  IAG’s CEO Willie Walsh wants the runway, saying (predictably) Dublin airport is currently at full capacity during peak hours, leading to “congestion and delays”. Mr Walsh says he was open to an agreement with Ryanair that would see it feed passengers to the Aer Lingus long-haul network, and an agreement could be reached by summer 2016.  The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is re-examining its proposals for a second runway as passenger numbers have risen to more than 21 million in 2014 and it expects a rise of 15% this year.
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IAG boss Walsh – new Dublin runway is ‘inevitable’

by Paul O’Donoghue  (Irish Independent)

31.10.2015

Dublin proposed northern runway

The proposed runway to the north in an artists impression

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh is in favour of the construction of a second runway at Dublin airport, saying it is currently at full capacity during peak hours, leading to “congestion and delays”.

Mr Walsh also said he was open to an agreement with Ryanair that would see it feed passengers to the Aer Lingus long-haul network. He said an agreement could be reached by summer 2016.

 

Mr Walsh was speaking following the publication of IAG’s results for the nine-month period to the end of September.International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) acquired Aer Lingus in September in a €1.36bn deal.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Walsh said that Dublin Airport needed more capacity to cope with demand during peak hours.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is re-examining its proposals for a second runway as passenger numbers have risen to more than 21 million in 2014 and that figure that is expected to increase by a further 15pc this year.

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe has also said that a new runway will probably be needed to cope with the predicted increase in demand.

Mr Walsh said: “There is space at times during the day but the airport is full during peak hours, which leads to delays and congestion.

“We would be very much in favour of it (a second runway), we think it is inevitable.

“The operators are all in favour of the extra infrastructure as long as it is cost-effective.

“We would also encourage the airport to look at utilising existing facilities as much as possible.”

Mr Walsh is also amenable working with Ryanair to bolster Aer Lingus’s long-haul network. The two airlines are in talks over an interlining arrangement that would see Ryanair providing transfer connections for its rival’s long-haul services.

The IAG boss said: “Customers are flying with them (Ryanair) anyway and if our customers are flying with Ryanair we want to connect them to airlines in our group. Reaching a sensible commercial arrangement will do that.

“I think there is scope to do work between Ryanair and Aer Lingus if commercial terms can be agreed. We do arrangements on a seasonal basis, (so) we could put something in place in April, (then) there is no reason an arrangement could not be put in place for next summer.”

He also said that IAG was keen to continue Aer Lingus’s long-haul expansion. Earlier this month, it announced three new US routes from Dublin, to Los Angeles, Newark and Hartford, Connecticut that will run from next year. This means it will now be flying to 12 destinations in North America.

Mr Walsh said that Aer Lingus would continue to add routes in North America, with a focus on the US.

“We would be thinking of about one or two a year, which reflects the strength of the Aer Lingus performance. We would be thinking of the US initially [and] would look at markets that would have a strong Irish diaspora. We would also look at Canada, which has a large Irish diaspora.”

IAG raised its 2015 profit outlook after third-quarter results beat expectations. The firm said full-year operating profit, excluding Aer Lingus, would come in between €2.25bn and €2.3bn, having previously forecast it at more than €2.2bn.

Aer Lingus made an operating profit of €45m since it joined the group in September. Total group operating profit was €1.2bn for the third quarter ,excluding the Irish airline.

IAG was formed from the merger of British Airways and Iberia in 2011 and is the world’s sixth-largest airline.

Irish Independent

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/iag-boss-walsh-new-dublin-runway-is-inevitable-34157168.html

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Earlier: 

Dublin Airport assesses new plan to build second runway

By John Mulligan (Irish Independent)
4.9.2015The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is re-examining its proposals for a second runway as passenger numbers are set to surpass peak levels reached during the boom.

The DAA already has planning permission for a second runway, but Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the semi-State company is currently re-evaluating that. “We believe that due to predicted demand that’s now very likely to occur at Dublin Airport, there will be a need for a second parallel runway,” said Mr Donohoe.

“The Dublin Airport Authority is now evaluating what their plans will be in that area in the future. I do expect them to be coming forward with proposals in that area soon,” he said.

More than 21 million passengers used Dublin Airport last year. That figure is expected to rise by 15pc this year at one of the fastest-growing airports in Europe. In 2008, a record 23.5 million passengers used it. A parallel runway at Dublin could be used at the same time as its current primary runway. Mr Donohoe also ruled out a second airport for the city. “We have in Dublin Airport at the moment an airport that has made huge progress,” he said.

“Our national policy is clear, that we will look to support development of Dublin Airport as a European hub airport.”  Ryanair chief commercial officer David O’Brien said the airline backs an extra runway, “just in the same way as we were supportive of the second terminal”.

“But we were supportive the second terminal (to be built) at less than €200m,” he added.

“Ryanair supports a second runway provided it’s less than €200m, which is what it should cost.”

Mr Donohoe also said he is continuing to assess options for a rail link from the airport to the city centre and a decision will be made “soon”.

David O’Brien also confirmed that Ryanair has been in discussions with Aer Lingus about the smaller rival taking passengers from Ryanair’s UK network.

He said Dublin has more routes to the UK than Heathrow has domestic ones, adding: “Ryanair clearly offers a service with high frequency on many of those routes. So we are a natural partner, I would have thought, for the likes of Aer Lingus or BA in that regard.”

Mr O’Brien said the talks with Aer Lingus are “positive” and that the airline, now owned by IAG, is “interested”.

“The devil is obviously in the detail,” he said.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/dublin-airport-assesses-new-plan-to-build-second-runway-31500522.html

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Plans for new Dublin Airport runway ready for take-off

By Jerome Reilly (Irish Independent)
31.5.2015

Plans for a €300m second runway at Dublin Airport have gained dramatic new impetus following the IAG takeover of Aer Lingus which includes plans to use Dublin airport to feed traffic from Europe to North America.

Over the next five years IAG plan to boost Aer Lingus feeder traffic through Dublin by an extra 2.4m passengers a year.

But even before the IAG bid for Aer Lingus emerged earlier this year the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) had reignited plans for a new runway on the 2,500 acre site at Collinstown.
New research released last week by the respected aviation website anna aero shows that Dublin is the fastest growing airport in Europe for long-haul traffic this year
Now plans for the construction of a second runway, which first emerged more than 30 years ago, look set to be fast tracked.

Planning permission for a new east-west runway, 1.6 kilometres to the north and parallel to the existing main runway was granted back in 2007 and remains valid for the next two years.

But air industry sources suggest a new planning application may have to be lodged because the original permission contained 31 restrictive conditions including a requirement that no flights operate from the second runway between 11pm and 7am.

The hour between 6am and 7am remains the airport’s busiest time and a ban on flights leaving a new second runway before 7am is considered impractical. Passenger numbers travelling through Dublin leapt by 8pc to 21.7 million last year and are already 15pc up on that figure in the first four months of 2015.

A DAA spokespersonal told the Sunday Independent: “We are currently examining the various options regarding the delivery of a second parallel runway at Dublin Airport, but have not yet made a final decision in relation to this issue.”

“A second parallel runway has been part of the overall development plan for Dublin Airport for several decades and we’re fortunate that land was earmarked for this project many years ago within the overall Dublin Airport campus.”

“The various options relating to its development will be carefully considered before the company makes a final decision on the best way forward and a second runway remains a central element of Dublin Airport’s long-term plans,” the DAA spokesman confirmed
Dublin Airport now has two flights per day to Dubai and Abu Dhabi with Emirates and Etihad both flying twice a day since last year.

Passenger numbers to the Middle East and North Africa doubled between 2011 and 2013.
The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has ruled that Dublin Airport will not be allowed to pass on any of the costs associated with the development of a second runway until passenger numbers pass 25 million in a 12 month period.

Between 2010 and 2014, Dublin Airport increased its transatlantic passenger numbers by 42pc with seven new transatlantic services during the same period.

This summer, Dublin Airport will be the sixth largest airport in Europe for services to North America with 318 flights per week (159 weekly departures) between Dublin and 15 separate destinations in the United States and Canada.
Sunday Independent

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/plans-for-new-dublin-airport-runway-ready-for-takeoff-31267030.html

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