DAA’s losses up until now this year are now approaching EUR150 million, according to its chief executive Dalton Philips
In an online interview he informed the Irish Tourist Market Confederation’s president Eoghan O’Mara Walsh that the coronavirus pandemic has actually had a “terrible” influence on the operator of Dublin and Cork airports.
DAA is losing about EUR1 million per day through the crisis, he stated.
The latest figures from the DAA show traveler traffic through Dublin Airport was down 85 percent last month compared to August last year.
Just 516,000 passengers flew through Dublin last month, below more than 3.4 million for the same duration a year ago.
Traffic through Dublin from European destinations was down 80 per cent, there was an 89 percent decrease to and from the UK, and north American numbers fell 95 percent.
So far this year, DAA states the results of the pandemic have actually cost it 16 million passengers.
Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs Leo Varadkar on Wednesday suggested that the Government’s upcoming plan for Ireland to deal with the pandemic over the medium term would open the country back up to worldwide travel.
In his interview taped prior to Mr Varadkar’s comments, Mr Philips suggested that the Government’s anti-virus restrictions were “strangling” the country.
” We have to get the nation going once again. We need to balance the different interests in between health and the economy,” he said.
Rapid testing
Mr Varadkar suggested that the Government would aim to present quick testing for the virus at Dublin Airport as a method to help with travel and minimize the dependence on quarantine measures to protect Ireland from importing the infection in air passengers.
Mr Philips stated it would not be possible to test every guest that flies into the airport.
He said it might take three or 4 years for guest numbers at Dublin Airport to recuperate.
The airport is proceeding with a new runway project, but Mr Philips suggested other capital expenditure projects could be downsized.
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