Ryanair cuts 10% of Dublin flights

Ryanair said it has cut close to one in 10 planned Summer 2026 flights from Dublin Airport after Ireland failed to remove the airport’s 32 million passenger cap. (visahq.com) (independent.ie) The airline told investors on April 24 that its Dublin capacity will now stay flat year over year instead of growing by the planned 10%. Ryanair said that means about 4,500 fewer flights and up to 800,000 fewer seats between June and October 2026. (visahq.com) (businesspost.ie) Ryanair said the schedule change was made in late February to early March. It also said the cuts were not a response to the Middle East conflict and pointed instead to the Dublin passenger cap. (travelextra.ie) (businesspost.ie) The cap comes from planning conditions tied to Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 that limit the airport to 32 million passengers a year unless a higher figure is authorized. William Fry, the Irish law firm tracking the case, said Dublin’s overall physical capacity was estimated at about 45 million passengers a year when those conditions were set. (williamfry.com) That planning limit has turned into a slots fight. The Irish Aviation Authority set coordination parameters for Winter 2024/25 and Summer 2025 that airlines including Ryanair, Aer Lingus, JetBlue and United challenged in court. (williamfry.com) On February 12, 2026, Advocate General Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona issued an opinion in the European Union case known as C-857/24 daa and Others. The opinion favored the Irish Aviation Authority’s position, according to William Fry’s analysis published March 26. (williamfry.com) The Irish government has also started work on legislation aimed at the cap. William Fry said the Department of Transport published the General Scheme of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 on the same day as the advocate general’s opinion. (williamfry.com) Airlines have been pressing for faster action. At an Oireachtas transport committee hearing in March, Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton called the cap a “historic anachronism,” while Ryanair said it could raise its Irish passenger numbers to 35 million by 2035 if the cap were removed. (thejournal.ie) For travelers, the immediate effect is simpler: Ryanair had planned more Dublin flying for summer 2026 and has now pulled that growth back to last year’s level. Unless the cap dispute is resolved, Dublin enters the peak season with fewer Ryanair seats than the airline had expected to sell. (visahq.com) (travelextra.ie)