Car parking at Dublin Airport is big business. Financial statements relating to DAA plc, published by the Irish Aviation Authority on Friday, show that the State-owned operator of Dublin Airport earned €73.8 million from its car parks in 2023.
That’s just more than €1.4 million a week in revenue from the various long- and short-term car parks, which, according to the DAA’s website, have 22,600 spaces between them. On average, each space generated income of €3,260 per year.
The total for that year was up from €67.3 million in 2022, an increase over the period of 9.7 per cent. The direct overheads attributed to the car parks in the DAA’s accounts were €5.4 million in 2023 (or just 7.3 per cent of its income), up from €4.3 million in the previous year. It’s a hugely profitable business.
In 2019 (the last full year before Covid-19 restrictions upended air travel), the DAA’s turnover from car parking at Dublin and Cork airports was €59 million from operating 26,639 spaces, according to separate filings by the company. Let’s assume that Dublin’s share of that revenue was about €50 million, it would suggest price inflation in the intervening six years of around 45 per cent.
No wonder DAA was so keen to purchase the 6,200-space former QuickPark site close to Dublin Airport last year. The Gerry Gannon car park had closed during Covid and was put up for sale.
[ DAA earns €700,000 bonus for improved service standards at Dublin AirportOpens in new window ]
After a near year-long analysis, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) rightly blocked the €70 million deal on the basis that it would “lead to higher prices and lower service quality for consumers” and give DAA a 90 per cent share of car parking at Dublin Airport.
The car park recently reopened under the Park2Travel brand. Given that demand outstripped supply at DAA’s car parks on a number of days last year, Park2Travel should do brisk business during the busy summer months, especially as the passenger cap has been suspended by the courts.
Having been soaked for the past few years by the DAA, consumers will hope that Park2Travel brings some much-needed price competition to car parking at Dublin Airport before they head off on their travels.
