THE OPERATOR OF Dublin Airport has said it will not appeal a decision by the competition watchdog to block its purchase of a privately-owned car park.

DAA, formerly Dublin Airport Authority, sought to acquire the QuickPark facility in Santry.

The Competitions and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) ruled that purchasing the 6,000-space car park would “eliminate” DAA’s only significant competitor, resulting in the operator “essentially having a near monopoly” for parking.

DAA said in a statement that there would be “merit” in appealing the decision but that the process could take “years”.

“DAA has made the decision following careful review of the CCPC’s judgement and in the interests of getting the facility’s 6,200 spaces back on the market for passengers in time for summer,” the statement reads.

The airport operator added that all of its car parks are currently booked out for the Easter weekend. The statement also calls on others to get the QuickPark facility up and running, and for “all parties to ensure the prompt delivery of the BusConnects and MetroLink projects”.

The findings of the CCPC’s investigation found, if the purchase were to go ahead, DAA would control 90% of parking facilities around the airport. Six hotels in the area currently control alternative parking facilities, five of which just hold 1% of capacity.

The CCPC said the current car park provides an “important level of competition” and that previous promotions from the former operator of the private car park put pressure on DAA to reduce prices and increase the quality of its services in the past.

While the watchdog said that the QuickPark site remains an “attractive and viable business opportunity for alternative purchasers”, allowing the sale of the site to DAA could risk customers facing increased prices and reduced quality of service.

Additional reporting by Muiris O’Cearbhaill