Ryanair would build new Dublin airport terminal for €200 million, says Michael O’Leary
Speaking at a gathering with Government ministers in attendance, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has offered to build a third terminal at Dublin Airport for €200 million.
O’Leary was famously not the biggest fan of the €1.2 billion infrastructure development that helped build Terminal 2. On the day T2 officially opened in November 2010, a sombre Ryanair boss arrived in a hearse wearing an undertaker’s suit and bearing a wreath reading “Irish Tourism RIP”.
While the promised death knell for Irish tourism didn’t quite materialise – in fact, 2016 is turning out to be a record year for tourism – O’Leary has said that it will be essential to exclude the state-owned daa from any involvement in a new terminal for Dublin Airport. He was a vocal critic of the design and cost of T2, which daa had chief involvement in at the time.
Addressing Ministers including Michael Noonan, Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, O’Leary said that a third terminal would be essential if Dublin Airport’s already large number of annual passengers continues to grow and that Ryanair would be willing to play its part in its creation.
He also restated his position that airlines should pay no more than the agreed €250 million, collectively, for the proposed second runway at the airport. The daa estimates the cost of the runway at €320 million, with the shortfall set to be picked up by passengers in the form of charges, which are currently capped at €9.87 per person.
