Dublin Airport privatisation?

It is reported that the DAA is to sell its 24.125% share of Birmingham Airport for €305 million. That means Birmingham Airport is worth about €1.26 billion. That is double the value the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) puts on Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport covers 2,500 acres whereas Birmingham Airport has 800 acres. Birmingham is only one-third the size of Dublin Airport yet is worth three times the larger airport. What is going on here? Could it be that if Dublin Airport is privatised at its official value a killing will be made by some, at public expense?

Land is the key. In setting passenger charges the CAR ignores the value of Dublin Airport's publicly owned land. It values all its 2,500 acres at €19.6 million - not per acre; all of it. One consequence is that passenger charges are too low - the lowest in Europe according to the DAA - because passengers pay only 7 cents for the use of Dublin Airport land. This means that Dublin Airport is heavily subsidised by the
taxpayer and its planned growth to 60 million passengers per annum is subsidy driven and unsustainable. This anti-competitive subsidy must be removed and a second competing airport for the Greater Dublin Airport must be seriously considered.