Minister’s Decision on T2 Tender Presents a Challenge for DAA
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) notes the decision by the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey T.D. to conclude the public tender competition for the operation of certain aspects of Terminal Two at Dublin Airport.
Following the ending of the tender process, the Minister has asked the DAA to demonstrate that it can operate T2 within the benchmark costs for operating the new terminal that were stipulated by the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) last year.
Minister Dempsey has given the DAA three months to confirm that it can meet the cost parameters specified by CAR; otherwise "alternative arrangements" for the operation of T2 will have to be made.
The DAA is already an efficient airport operator, as confirmed by a number of independent studies carried out on behalf of CAR in recent years. CAR's most recent research found that in 2008, total operating costs per passenger at Dublin Airport were the second lowest in a study of 12 comparable European airports and were 20-25% lower than the average operating cost.
"The DAA has been set a significant challenge by this decision, as the benchmark costs envisaged by CAR will require a different cost model than that which currently pertains in the existing terminal," said DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier. "We will now work to try and meet the criteria stipulated by the Minister and are committed to responding to him within the three-month period."