Max HeyraudRyanair CEO Michael O’Leary has warned that flights from Dublin to London could cost up to €500 this Christmas due to a dispute with Dublin Airport over flight and passenger capacity. This rising cost of travel will have an impact on Irish and UK travellers’ ongoing travel for club tourism, as well as Irish and UK artists performing cross-border shows this Christmas.
Travellers between Ireland and the United Kingdom may face significant cost increases owing to an ongoing disagreement between Ryanair and Dublin Airport over aircraft and passenger capacity. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s boss, has warned that flights from Dublin to London might cost up to €500 this Christmas. This worrying potential increase in travel prices might have serious consequences for both leisure travellers and artists participating in cross-border events this holiday season.
Michael O’Leary said: “We run about 270,000 extra slots at Christmas time every year just to keep fares down. We can’t run those extra slots… therefore the fares this Christmas will be double or triple.”
Ireland and the UK, particularly London, have a long history of cross-border club culture tourism, with fabric, FOLD, and Drumsheds being popular destinations for Irish ravers. Similarly, Index has become a popular destination for people travelling to Dublin City for club shows, with dancers from the UK visiting the new and improved Irish venue. These new travel costs may have an impact on the two capital cities’ long-standing relationship.
This is also likely to have an impact on Irish and English artists being booked in their respective neighbouring countries, as travel costs will make it prohibitively expensive for either promoter to book acts from Ireland or England this holiday season.
