EU court adviser backs justification for Dublin Airport passenger cap

BRUSSELS, Feb 12 (Reuters) - An adviser to Europe's top court on Thursday backed the key justification used to cap passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, a measure that could trigger limits on Irish airlines flying to the United States.

The imposition of the 32 million passenger-per-year cap has been suspended pending the final ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, allowing Dublin Airport to overshoot by over 4 million passengers last year.

The cap was imposed by local planners in 2008, but only became an issue in 2024 when passenger numbers neared the limit.

A group of airlines, including Ryanair RYA.I, challenged the measure in court, arguing that the elimination or reduction of slots was unjustified and compromised their freedom to conduct business.

CJEU Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona disagreed.

"An annual passenger limit imposed by a planning authority may be taken into account when allocating slots at an airport with capacity problems," he said.

Judges, who follow such non-binding opinions in four out of five cases, will rule in the coming months. The case is C-857/24 daa and others.

U.S. industry trade group Airlines for America filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation last month asking it to curtail Irish carriers' access to the U.S. if the cap at Dublin Airport, which carries around 80% of the country's air travellers, is not swiftly scrapped.

That could significantly hurt Aer Lingus, the former flag carrier that is part of the IAG ICAG.L group of airlines and the only Irish airline with significant U.S. operations.

Meanwhile the Irish cabinet this week gave formal backing to a law to scrap the passenger cap, but it may take until the end of the year for the law to be passed by parliament.