Ryanair has vowed to shift more flights to Belfast International if the controversial passenger cap at Dublin Airport remains in place.
The airline’s chief marketing officer Dara Brady said the Co Antrim airport was its “closest viable alternative” if the 32 million annual passenger limit is not scrapped.
Mr Brady said Ryanair would also seek to utilise other airports on the island of Ireland if “Dublin is going to be closed for business”.
He made the comments as the company launched its 13-route winter schedule for Belfast International, which includes a new route to Kaunas in Lithuania.
Ryanair has already moved 50,000 flight seats from Dublin to Belfast for the winter period due to the cap, with additional capacity added to the Stansted, Krakow and Alicante routes.
The Dublin Airport traffic limitation is based on planning regulations dating back to 2007.
Ryanair has been one of the most vocal opponents of the cap and has heavily criticised the Irish Government for failing to address the issue.
It has called on Ireland’s Transport minister Eamon Ryan to issue a letter of direction to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to add additional flight slots at Dublin Airport while the airline is also set to challenge the restriction in the courts.
At an event in Belfast city centre on Wednesday, Mr Brady said the cap was damaging tourism and the economy in Ireland.
“It’s not allowing for passenger growth,” he said.
“Belfast is the closest viable alternative. Hence, we’ve already shifted 50,000 seats for this winter.
“And, you know, there will be further opportunities if the cap is going to remain in place and Dublin is going to be closed for business, well, then it can only create opportunities for Belfast and indeed other regional airports in Ireland.
“So you know what happens from a political and from a legal perspective for the traffic cap over the next number of weeks and months will obviously have a knock-on impact for Belfast.”
He added: “When we look to put in additional capacity around, you know, the bank holiday weekend, the midterm holidays, Christmas, Cheltenham next year, ad hoc slots that we typically would have been able to pick up in Dublin (and if) we’re not able to get them, we think that Belfast is an alternative for some of that traffic.”
At the event, Belfast International chief executive Dan Owens was asked if he felt the airport would benefit from the restriction in Dublin.
“From our side we’d welcome anything that drives additional passenger demand,” he said.
“We’re investing over £100 million over the next five years in the airport to improve facilities for passengers and for airlines.
“So we welcome any sort of growth that could come our way from that side of things.”