Planning application to raise passenger capacity at Dublin Airport received

Fingal County Council this afternoon received a planning application from Dublin Airport operator daa seeking to raise the passenger cap at Dublin Airport from 32million to 36million passengers per annum.

The application (F24A/1178E) will be assessed by the Planning Authority in accordance with relevant national and regional planning guidance as well as the Fingal Development Plan and the Dublin Airport Local Area Plan. The planning authority will consult with the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority, in its role as the regulator of aircraft noise at Dublin Airport.   

There were no pre-planning meetings between the Planning Authority and daa prior to the submission of this application. 

Following receipt of the application, Fingal County Council commenced the validation process. The application will not be available to view online until Monday, December 23.    

It should be noted that the aforementioned application is separate to a current application before Fingal County Council regarding passenger growth. The Planning Authority is currently assessing an application (F23A/0781) from the daa seeking to raise the passenger cap to 40million passengers per annum as well as permission for 11 separate infrastructure projects at Dublin Airport. Details on this application are available on the Fingal County Council website www.fingal.ie.

In February the Planning Authority sought 85 separate items of further information which was eventually received on November 13, 2024 and subsequently deemed to be significant. This resulted in the application being put out to public consultation again and the closing date for submissions is January 8, 2025.

A decision on this planning application is not subject to the same timelines associated with a conventional planning application, as the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority (ANCA), in its role as the regulator of aircraft noise, formed the opinion on 17 January 2024 that the application requires an assessment of the need for a noise related action. Daa has yet to submit the outstanding information, which was requested by ANCA in March 2024, for this assessment.

The Planning Authority is precluded from issuing a decision on the planning application until it receives direction from ANCA in relation to aircraft noise.

Separate to any planning application, ANCA is carrying out a noise assessment of Dublin Airport. This includes consideration of the noise problems, and situations to be improved, which were identified in the Dublin Airport Noise Action Plan 2024-2028.