Irish Government has 14 days to respond to US complaint over Dublin Airport cap

US Department of Transport urged to curtail flights from Ireland to US unless passenger cap is removed

This week, Airlines for America (A4A) made a formal complaint to the US Department of Transport regarding the passenger cap. It has complained to Washington that the Irish government is restricting the amount of passengers that can use Dublin Airport.

It has urged the US Department of Transport to prepare to curtail or suspend the access of Irish airlines to the United States unless the Irish government adopts emergency legislation by February 1 to withdraw or suspend the passenger cap at the airport.

A4A’s member airlines include Delta, United and JetBlue. While American Airlines is a member, it is not a party to the complaint.

Now the Department of Transport in the United States has said it will give parties, including the Irish government and the EU, 14 days to respond to the complaint by the lobby group.

“If timely and properly supported responsive pleadings are filed, we will give full consideration to the matters and issues raised before we take further action,” it said in a notice.

The US Department of Transport must approve, deny, or dismiss a complaint, set a complaint for hearing or investigation, or begin another proceeding proposing remedial action not later than 60 days after receipt of a complaint.

The period for acting can be extended by a total of 30 days if the Department decides that, with additional time, it is likely that the complaint can be resolved satisfactorily through negotiations.

It must act within 90 days of receiving the complaint. However, it may extend that 90-day period by not more than 90 days, if, on the last day of the initial 90-day period, it finds that negotiations with the government have progressed to a point that a satisfactory resolution of the complaint appears imminent.

It can also be extended where the Department finds that an air carrier has not been subjected to economic injury by the government or entity as a result of filing the complaint, or that the public interest requires additional time before it acts on the complaint.

Dublin Airport is subject to a limit of handling 32 million passengers a year under a planning condition attached in 2007 to the construction of Terminal 2.

However, the cap is currently effectively stayed as matters related to it have been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. An opinion in that case is due to be filed by one of the court’s advocate generals next month. A final decision from the court will come some months later.

Irish Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien has accused senior civil servants of blocking efforts to have the cap removed.

“A4A is compelled to file this complaint because Ireland continues to violate EU regulations and the United States-European Union Air Transport Agreement (US-EU ATA),” the complaint filed on Tuesday insists.