Ryanair has said it has reached an agreement with Leinster Rugby to use Belfast International Airport for away match flights over a row linked to additional winter slots at Dublin Airport.
The budget carrier has claimed the extra slots at Dublin Airport normally allocated for the winter flights by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), have not been signed off this year.
As a result, Ryanair said Leinster’s rugby squad will instead use Belfast International Airport for their away matches in Bristol, Cardiff and La Rochelle this winter.
The carrier said Christmas flights to Lapland could also be moved to Belfast International.
Last month Ryanair announced it had added an extra 50,000 winter seats on flights between Belfast International Airport and London Stansted due to capacity issues at Dublin Airport.
The airport has already reached its annual cap of 32 million passengers, meaning airlines will face restrictions on the number of additional flights they can introduce for the high demand festive season.
The cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport was put in place during 2007 as a condition of the planning approval for Terminal 2.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claims the second runway opened at Dublin in 2022 means the airport can accommodate up to 60 million passengers each year.
He has called on Eamon Ryan and Irish Tourism Minister Catherine Martin to intervene and issue a direction letter to the IAA to authorise the extra slots at Dublin Airport.
“Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin can and should now issue a Direction Letter to the IAA telling them to allow these extra slots, so that Leinster Rugby can travel to their away matches from Dublin Airport,” he said.
“This is also necessary to allow Irish families to travel to Lapland from Dublin not Belfast this Christmas.
“Irish aviation and tourism is the laughingstock of Europe, where two green ministers sit on their hands doing nothing while a 17-year-old concern about road traffic blocks growth of Irish air traffic, tourism and jobs.”
Eamon Ryan has previously stated he cannot legally interfere with an independent planning process.
His department has been contacted for comment.
