Ryanair has announced that it will be cutting its winter schedule at Dublin Airport citing daa’s rising passenger charges, "unnecessary vanity projects" and "failure" to deliver incentives to airlines to lower emissions.

In a massive move on Thursday, the popular low-cost airline cancelled a total of 17 routes and moved its entire Dublin-based enviro-friendly fleet of 19 aircraft to alternative EU airports that incentivise airlines to grow passenger numbers with quieter, lower CO2 emission aircraft.

The budget carrier has claimed that the operator of Dublin Airport has a "history of mismanagement", including "understaffing summer security, wasting taxpayers’ money on ill-thought-out infrastructure projects, and failing to support low-cost access and sustainable growth."

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According to Ryanair, the daa is increasing its "excessive" charges by a whopping 45 per cent in a bid to fund its €3 billion gold-plated CAPEX programme, which includes a "portfolio of unnecessary vanity projects which have no benefit for passengers".

Ryanair has given daa’s €250m cargo tunnel as an example of this, claiming the project is "superfluous" and could be easily replaced with a tried and tested low-cost alternative like the crossing system at Cologne Airport – home of Europe's Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Ryanair has also hit into claims that it wants to row traffic at Dublin Airport to 40 million passengers per year suggesting that the operator as yet has no current plans to expand T1 or T2 to grow passenger and connectivity.

The airline has said the daa should have immediate plans to expand capacity at T1 that could easily integrate low-cost gates into the existing infrastructure, growing connections, capacity, and the economy but claimed they are "fixated on building a €250 million tunnel that goes nowhere".

They added that the daa has a "history of building the wrong infrastructure in the wrong place at exorbitant cost." The airline gave T2 as a prime example; "opened in 2010 at a bloated cost of €2 billion but it is located in a cul-de-sac and can’t be expanded."

Ryanair has also claimed that daa has failed to deliver a meaningful environmental scheme to incentivise airlines to grow with quieter, lower CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, Ryanair has suggested that the daa is reversing all the good work done by the government regarding the TRSS (Traffic Recovery Support Scheme), which restored Irish passenger numbers to more than pre-covid levels.

The Michael O'Leary-headed airline has urged the daa to "urgently prioritise investment" in facilities that are needed, infrastructure and incentive programs that will underpin passenger growth, reward lower-emission aircraft and lower charges to stimulate connectivity.

Speaking in Dublin, Ryanair’s Eddie Wilson said: "It is regrettable that Ryanair is announcing 17 route cuts and the removal of 19 ‘gamechanger’ enviro-friendly aircraft this winter at Dublin because there are no incentives at Dublin to grow traffic or reward investment in aircraft with lower C02 and noise emissions."

He added: "Daa should urgently prioritise investment in low-cost useful infrastructure and introduce incentive programs to lower charges that will facilitate passenger growth, reward lower-emission aircraft and lower charges to stimulate connectivity, underpinning tourism, and job growth, which is what Ireland’s growing economy needs."

The Irish Mirror has contacted daa for comment.