Dublin Airport Statement to Joint Committee Re Potential Sale of Aer Lingus

The position in relation to Aer Lingus is that the company is currently in the very early stages of a potential takeover process by IAG Group.

As shares in both companies are publicly quoted, there are strict rules governing this potential process and the communications that made be made by affected parties. Both Aer Lingus and IAG Group are also valued commercial customers of Dublin Airport.

No formal takeover offer has yet been made by IAG Group, and both IAG and Aer Lingus have indicated to the stock market that it not certain that such an offer will be made. It is also unclear what the terms of any potential offer may be.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohue TD, said earlier this week that any takeover offer for Aer Lingus would be given very careful examination before the Government takes any decision on the issue.

The Board of Aer Lingus has indicated to IAG that the financial terms of its most recent proposal are at a level at which Aer Lingus would be willing to recommend to its shareholders, subject to being satisfied with the manner in which IAG proposes to address the interests of relevant parties.

IAG has said that its proposal would secure and strengthen the Aer Lingus brand and leverage the natural traffic flows between Ireland and the US and the advantageous geographic position of Dublin for serving connecting traffic.

IAG has also stated that it recognises the importance of direct air services and air route connectivity for investment and tourism in Ireland and intends to engage with the Irish Government in order to secure the Government’s support for the transaction.

In the absence of any detailed information in relation to the potential takeover, it is difficult to form a concrete view of its implications. However, based on the very limited information which has been issued by both parties, it appears that there may some potential positives for Dublin Airport.

Passenger traffic at Dublin Airport has increased by 18% since 2010 and last year the airport welcomed 21.7 million passengers. Transatlantic traffic set a new record last year as 2.1 million passengers took flights between Dublin Airport and North America.

Dublin Airport is also growing as a transfer hub between Europe and North America as a record 750,000 passengers transferred at Dublin last year.

Given the current stage of the process, the lack of any detailed information, and the fact that both Aer Lingus and IAG are commercial customers of Dublin Airport, there is nothing further that Dublin Airport can say in relation to a potential takeover offer at this stage.