Former Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh says passenger cap is an ‘industry joke’ [Video]

The passenger cap at Dublin Airport has become a “joke” within the travel industry outside Ireland, former Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh has said.

Walsh, now chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), described the restriction on the growth of passenger numbers at the airport as “very disappointing, very frustrating.”

The restriction is not due to capacity constraints but rather a caveat in the planning permission for Terminal 2 that is completely artificial in terms of available infrastructure, he said.

Mr Walsh, 62, told the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin yesterday: “It has become a joke.

“Outside of Ireland, this is a joke.

“I speak to international airlines who want to serve the Irish market, they want to serve it through Dublin.

“They are not going to fly to Shannon and Cork and they are absolutely crystal clear about that. “They want to serve the Irish market, for them Dublin is the Irish market and …