The High Court has granted Ryanair, Aer Lingus and an organisation representing a number of US airlines permission to seek a judicial review of a decision by the aviation regulator limiting the number of aircraft slots at Dublin Airport next summer.

The airlines are also seeking a stay on the implementation of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) decision earlier this month, pending the outcome of the judicial review proceedings.

A date for the hearing of the application for the stay will be set by the court tomorrow, with the parties all seeking that it be heard urgently.

On October 7, the IAA published its final decision in relation to the number of aircraft take off and landing slots that could be made available to airlines during next summer at Dublin Airport.

That capped the number of passenger seats on aircraft in and out of the airport at 25.2 million, around 1 million less than this summer, creating capacity problems for airlines using the facilities.

The limit was put in place to try to ensure that Dublin Airport remains within its 32 million passengers a year cap, put in place in 2007 as part of planning permission for the second terminal.

Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Airlines for America (A4A) have all asked the High Court to review that decision.

Senior Counsel Martin Hayden for Ryanair said it was inevitable that there would also need to be a reference of aspects of the case to the European courts for a ruling, a point he said Aer Lingus and A4A are “equally minded” on.

Counsel for A4A said it would be arguing that the IAA decision represents a breach of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, a matter he said that is of particular concern to his client.

He said the parties would be asking the court to hear the application for a stay on the implementation of the IAA decision next week.

The actual allocation of slots to airlines under the decision is to be made on November 7, he said, so the court’s decision would have to be given in advance of that.

Martin Hayden said once that allocation happens, under the regulations Ryanair would lose 3,000 slots and 550,000 passenger seats and as a result there is urgency.

Conor Quinn, for Aer Lingus, supported the call for the stay to be considered urgently as he said his client would lose 362,000 passenger seats if the decision is implemented.

Ms Justice Gearty said she would grant leave for the parties to seek a judicial review and would fix a date for the hearing of the application for a stay tomorrow.

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