Aer Lingus to reveal €800m Dublin airport site plan
23.10.05
The Aer Lingus board will discuss plans for an €800 million redevelopment of its 14½ acre site at Dublin Airport at a meeting on Thursday. The airline expects a positive response and is ready to move immediately to seek planning permission from Fingal County Council.
Included in the plans are proposals for three new airport hotels, office blocks and a conference centre on a site facing the airport terminal that is currently occupied by the Aer Lingus head office. This building would be knocked down as part of the plans and Aer Lingus would need alternative office accommodation within the airport complex before the site becomes available.
The scheme embraces 160,000 sq m. It includes new airport parking for 6600 cars, a 400-room five-star hotel, a 300-room four-star hotel, an aparthotel, a leisure centre and airport-related retail space. Also included will be space for an underground station, even though no decision has yet been taken by the Government on construction of a Metro service between the airport and central Dublin.
The airline has control of the airport site under the terms of a 65-year lease from the former Aer Rianta, now the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). It also has an option to renew this lease for another 30 years. The local council could take up to 18 months to sanction the plans, although some airline sources believe that officials in the council are well-disposed to the initiative.
The attitude of the Dublin Airport Authority to the proposed development is not yet known. Its stance may be influenced by the inclusion of hotels in the Aer Lingus plans.
Sources in Aer Lingus believe the property plan presents obvious opportunities to realise significant profits for the cash-strapped airline. It is not yet clear how Aer Lingus will pay for the project, but one option is to co-develop the site with a property development group.
