Situated just north of Dublin City, Dublin Airport (Aerfort Bhaile Atha Cliath in Irish) has seen massive growth in passenger number over recent years. Partly spurred on by low cost airlines such as Ryan Air, and partly because of the recent economic success in Ireland, people are travelling by air much more than they did in previous times. Currently Dublin Airport is an airport under pressure with outdated facilities and not enough room to deal with the ever increasing passenger numbers. The future for Dublin Airport is looking better and better with plans to build a second and third terminal very slowly taking shape. The planned expansion of Dublin Airport will cater for 38 million passengers annually; more than double the current number of passengers travelling through Dublin Airport at present. Announced in May 2005 by the then Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, and the terminal is to be built by 2009. The new terminal is due to be accompanied by a new runway which will cater for the new breed or aircraft such as the Airbus A380. There are many parties interested in building the terminals; including Ryan Air, but to date there have been no more developments on the issue. The proposed development has met with some criticism, particularly by residents of the nearby areas which do not want to see increased air traffic travelling through Dublin Airport. For the majority of Irish people, the building of these additional terminals can not come quick enough. |
