"Extension boosts Dublin airport capacity to 20m"

Thursday, June 27, 2002

Extension boosts Dublin airport capacity to 20m 
Online.ie


Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today officially opened the new terminal
extension at Dublin Airport, which Aer Rianta said will increase annual
passenger capacity to 20 million.

The airport handled 14.3 million passengers last year and Aer Rianta
expects that number to increase over the next five years.

Aer Rianta, which yesterday reported that profits fell by one third last
year, has spent E130m on the extension. 

Speaking at the launch, chairman Noel Hanlon claimed that Dublin airport
is the fastest growing airport of its size in Europe. "Since the mid
1990s passenger numbers at Dublin Airport have increased by almost 80pc
and this extension reflects the need to cater for sustained levels of
growth," he added. 

Aer Rianta will shortly seek planning permission for a new pier at the
airport, the long-awaited "Pier D", which could cost up to E70m to
build. Hanlon this week insisted that landing charges would be the same
for airlines using the new terminal as for the rest of the airport. It
had been speculated that the new pier would target low cost airlines and
levy lower landing charges.


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