Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), the parent of Dublin and Cork airports, has signed a twinning agreement with Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) which will allow the two companies to co-operate to further commercial and tourism links between the two cities. The agreement is also designed to enable the two airports to engage in a joint marketing initiative to deliver more direct airline services between Dublin and Beijing.

Both airports will now work closely on areas such as; operational information sharing, joint marketing, sustainable development and deepening the existing trade and tourism links between the two cities. The agreement will also examine the scope for commercial co-operation between Beijing Airport and DAA’s retail arm ARI (formerly known as Aer Rianta International), which has operations in 12 countries including its recently opened stores in China.

“Dublin Airport is delighted to have become a Sister Airport to Beijing Airport,” said DAA Chief Executive, Kevin Toland. “This new agreement builds upon the already close links between the two cities and is a significant step forward in our mutual desire to have improved air connections between Ireland and China.”

The airport twinning agreement was signed this week by Toland and Beijing Airport’s President & CEO Zhang Guanghui during an Irish trade mission to China led by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore. "I warmly welcome this agreement between Ireland and China's largest airport operators. China is a key market for foreign direct investment, for trade and for tourism, and the enhanced co-operation between DAA and Beijing Capital Airport will help to strengthen the links between our two economies," he said.

Beijing Airport President & CEO, Zhang Guanghui said the agreement was a symbolic new bridge between the two cities. “Beijing Airport is the Gateway for China and Dublin is the Gateway for Ireland and we will work together to strengthen the connections between the two cities for their mutual benefit,” he explained.

Links between Ireland and China have been deepening in recent years as the cities of Dublin and Beijing have been twinned since June 2011 and Ireland and China signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2012. China is experiencing a boom in airport construction and air travel with 82 new airports currently being built, and this new agreement could also help generate opportunities for DAA’s fledgling advisory/consultancy business. With a projected 90 million Chinese citizens expected to travel overseas this year, China is set to become the world’s largest outbound tourist market.

“China is a key emerging market for Irish tourism and we are working closely with representatives of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Tourism Ireland to help grow this important business with improved connections between Ireland and China,” said Toland.

More than 30,000 passengers per year fly between Ireland and China. But as there is currently no direct service, passengers typically connect via a European or a Middle Eastern airport. According to MIDT data the number of bi-directional O&D passengers travelling between Dublin and Beijing has grown 4.9 per cent over the past calendar year from around 17,100 passengers in 2011 to 18,000 in 2012.

“DAA has been talking to a number of Chinese airlines for several years in relation to the potential for improved links between Dublin and Beijing, and we are convinced that a direct service will grow the overall market and stimulate greater business and tourism activity,” added Toland.

In the table below we look in greater detail at the passenger demand between Dublin and Beijing and the main passenger flows on the city pair in 2012. According to our analysis it is the European majors that hold the largest share of traffic on this route although the growth of the operations of Middle East hub carriers at Dublin mean they are taking an increasing share of the traffic. Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways now account for almost a quarter of the O&D demand between Dublin and Beijing, up from just ten per cent the year earlier.