A TOP US aviation lobbyist pressed Taoiseach Micheál Martin about speeding up the removal of Dublin Airport’s 32 million passenger cap during his visit to Washington last week.

Chris Sununu, President and CEO of Airlines for America, a powerful lobbying group based in Washington DC that represents a number of major US airlines, said this afternoon that he “impressed upon” Martin that the cap had to be lifted, as it is a major point of contention for US aviation officials.

Sununu appeared before an Oireachtas transport committee hearing on the passenger cap this morning, where he joined other Irish and international aviation heads to slam the current restrictions.

He told the committee that the passenger cap has moved beyond a planning issue and is now a “policy decision with direct economic consequences”.

He also accused the Irish government of breaching an EU-US trade agreement by enforcing the cap, and hinted that the US administration is aware of the situation, and is not happy about it. 

According to Sununu, there is a “very strong potential” that Irish airlines would lose a number of flight connections to the US if the cap is not removed soon.

“Believe me, it’s not going unnoticed by the administration,” Sununu told a press conference after the hearing.

Chris Sununu (right) pictured with Willie Walsh (IATA) and Eddie Wilson (Ryanair). The Journal The Journal

“I’ve spoken to the government this week. I was in the White House last week, and at the Department of Transportation on Monday. It’s real.

“It’s it’s not just a situation where we can say ‘hey, this kind of needs to be fixed’. It needs to be fixed now. They are watching right now,” he added.

Speaking to The Journal after the committee hearing, Sununu said that the lifting of the passenger cap “really does have to happen very, very soon”, as airlines are currently making decisions about access to equipment and routes for 2027.

“I appreciate there’s going to be a few more [Oireachtas committee] hearings. You’ve had 16 months of hearings. Move it along. Speed them up,” Sununu said.

“Let’s do it next week. A decision really needs to be made to give these airlines assurances that that they don’t need to make more permanent changes.”

Sununu added: “The issue was brought up with the Taoiseach last week.”

“I brought it up with him myself, directly, and he was very much in favor of removing the cap. We got to talk a little bit about timing, and I just impressed upon him that it had to happen quickly, because there were economic decisions being made.”

Last month, the cabinet approved draft legislation to lift the passenger cap, which was a condition in a 2007 planning permission from Fingal County Council.

The restriction has been suspended by the High Court pending the outcome of legal proceedings referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Dublin Airport handled around 36.4 million passengers last year, meaning full enforcement of the cap would require a reduction of more than 4 million journeys, over 12% of current traffic.

Sununu estimated that reducing passenger numbers by this much could cost the Irish economy between $4 billion and $6 billion, largely through lost tourism spending and wider knock-on effects.