The recently constructed North Runway at Dublin Airport commenced operations on Wednesday 24th August with the 1210 departure of Ryanair flight FR1964 to Eindhoven operated EI-HAW Boeing 737 MAX 8200 msn 65078.

The €320m North Runway (designated 10L/28R) and associated facilities were delivered on schedule and on budget by daa at no cost to the State.  The new runway, located on existing owned lands some 1.69 kilometres north of Dublin Airport’s existing South Runway, will support the creation of 31,200 new jobs and €2.2 billion in additional economic activity.

The delivery of the North Runway fulfils a key mandate set by the Government’s National Aviation Policy, by enabling Dublin Airport to develop as an international hub for leading airlines and enhancing connectivity of Ireland’s island economy for the benefit of consumers, tourism and Foreign Direct Investment.

The North Runway is critical to Dublin’s growing position as the fifth largest North Atlantic Hub, enhancing connectivity will mean a greater choice of destinations and airlines for business and leisure market segment , as well as competitive fares.

daa CEO, Dalton Philips said “The opening of North Runway is an exciting milestone for Dublin Airport and Ireland, with the delivery of this once-in-a-generation piece of vital national infrastructure positioning Ireland for economic growth for many decades to come. The addition of North Runway will further enhance the role of Dublin Airport as a vital economic enabler for Irish tourism, trade and foreign direct investment. I am enormously proud of everyone who helped deliver this remarkable piece of aviation engineering both on budget and on schedule, ready to commence operation at a vital time for aviation and for Ireland.”

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton TD said “The new North Runway will provide much-needed capacity and will enable Dublin Airport to re-build and enhance connectivity to our island, putting Ireland in a strong position to facilitate increased economic activity. The new runway is a crucial piece of infrastructure which will enable Dublin Airport to expand and provide the necessary capacity to connect key existing and emerging global markets.  I wish to commend all the hard-working staff and management at daa for completing such a key national infrastructure project within budget.”

Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson said Eddie Wilson said “We welcome the opening of Dublin Airport’s new second runway today, and congratulate all the DAA team on delivering this critical infrastructure on time and within budget. This new 2nd Runway capacity will enable Ryanair to operate more flights to/from Dublin airport, keeping air fares low, delivering tourism growth, all on new aircraft, which carry more passengers, but burn less fuel and substantially cuts noise emissions for the benefit of our neighbouring communities in North County Dublin.”

The North Runway was designed to be fully compliant with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards to ensure Dublin Airport can operate as a Category IIIB runway, capable of servicing larger, typically long-haul aircraft, up to and including Code F types (wingspans 65m to 80m) including Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 747-800 aircraft.

The runway will enable even greater operational flexibility with existing Airbus A330 , Airbus A350-900/1000 and Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-8/9/10 aircraft and future Boeing 777-8 and 9 aircraft.

Image Credit: DAA/Dublin Airport

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