Aer Lingus Will Ground 1 Airbus A330 & Scale Back A320s As It Tackles Costs & Impact Of Dublin Airport Passenger Cap

Aer Lingus has continued to face challenges as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport (DUB) is no closer to being lifted, forcing the Irish airline to adapt its operations and network, including potentially grounding one A330 aircraft.

Scaling back its fleet

According to a report by the Irish Independent, the Dublin-based Aer Lingus is exploring its options as the passenger cap at Dublin Airport (DUB) is, for the time being, staying put.

The Irish daily had obtained a video message from Lynne Embleton, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Aer Lingus, who told the airline’s employees that the airline would have to adapt to the passenger cap at the Irish capital’s airport.

The Irish carrier could reduce its workforce with a hiring freeze and employees leaving on their own accord, enabling Aer Lingus to avoid a company-wide redundancy scheme, added the report.

In addition, the airline would ground one Airbus A330 aircraft and reduce the number of weekly frequencies with its A320 family aircraft fleet, according to the Irish outlet.

Simple Flying has approached Aer Lingus for a comment on the story, but the airline has not responded to our inquiry at the time of publishing.

Reducing its flying

Meanwhile, data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that Aer Lingus has already reduced capacity on some routes during this winter season, which began on October 27 and will run until March 29, 2025.

For example, in January 2025, it has reduced the number of flights from Dublin to Bristol Airport (BRS) by 22 year-on-year (YoY), resulting in the Irish airline operating 13 weekly flights on the route during the month.

In November, Aer Lingus should operate 16 fewer flights to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) YoY, with the cuts resulting in four fewer weekly flights on the route connecting the two capitals.

The same weekly flight cuts should apply in December and in March 2025. In February 2025, Aer Lingus has scheduled three fewer weekly flights, while in January 2025, there could be three more Aer Lingus weekly departures between Dublin Airport (DUB) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), 70 versus 67.

At the same time, Aer Lingus previously indicated that it would reduce flights on the route. In August, The Irish Times reported that the carrier would cut up to three daily flights during the then-upcoming winter and the following summer season in 2025. The latter will begin on March 30, 2025, and end on October 25, 2025.

In September, Aer Lingus refurbished its lounge at Heathrow and introduced a range of new food options for customers to enjoy in front of views of the southern runway.

Dublin’s passenger cap

According to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), in 2007, the An Bord Pleanála, the independent planning body that reviews appeals on planning decisions made by authorities of Ireland, imposed a condition when daa, the operator of Dublin Airport (DUB), was developing Terminal 2 at the airport.

As a result, the combined capacity at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 was set to 32 million annual passengers, with the condition remaining in existence, the IAA added when it announced that it had set the airport’s capacity for the summer 2025 season.

“For Winter 2024 (26 October 2024 to 29 March 2025) the seat cap is 14.4m. The decision for Summer 2025 results in a total seat capacity of 39.6m across the two seasons.”

While the seat cap was greater than the passenger cap, it took into account expected load factors and an adjustment for transfer passengers, the IAA noted.

Nevertheless, airlines, including Ryanair, have been challenging the passenger cap, warning that the cap has already harmed the airport’s and, by extension, the Irish economy’s growth and potential.

Airlines for America (A4A), a lobby group comprised of the majority of the largest airlines in the United States, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, have also challenged the cap.

On October 21, The High Court of Ireland allowed Aer Lingus, A4A, and Ryanair to challenge the cap in court after the organizations had challenged the IAA’s capacity plan at Dublin Airport (DUB) for summer 2025.

On October 7, the same day that IAA published its capacity plan, Ryanair said that Eamon Ryan, the Transport Minister of Ireland, and Catherine Martin, the Tourism Minister of Ireland, should resign immediately.

“[They] continue to stand idly by while the IAA unlawfully attempts to reduce traffic at Dublin Airport by over 1m passengers in Summer 2025.”

According to Michael O’Leary, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ryanair, the cap breached the European Union’s (EU) right to freedom of movement regulations and also violated the open skies agreement between the EU and the US.

“We have no doubt that this absurd 17-year-old restriction (which was solely designed to allay road traffic “concerns” which no longer exist) will be thrown out by the European Courts.”

O’Leary concluded that Ryanair’s lawyers had been instructed to challenge the move in Irish and European courts to stop “this absurd self-harm inflicted on Irish aviation and Irish tourism” by Ryan and Martin.