Aviation

Opinion: Ireland can be a global leader by linking increase in airport cap to progress on emissions

We have been presented with a binary choice between raising the Dublin Airport passenger cap or fighting climate change – but there’s a third way forward

Sustainable aviation fuels, a form of drop-in fuel which can be used without making any changes to the engines or aircraft, can reduce emissions by around 80 per cent. Picture: Getty

“Other EU airports are now laughing at Ireland’s traffic cap,” Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said recently while demanding action on the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

In response to his open letter, policymakers should take a leaf out of Ryanair’s book and turn Dublin Airport into an innovation leader in the path towards sustainable aviation.

This is not as far-fetched as it might seem. Over recent weeks, two opposing arguments have dominated the news.

The first ...