The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said it believed there would be no demand for the A380 at Dublin, but admitted that tens of millions of euro worth of modifications to boarding gates and piers alone at the new terminal would be necessary if it subsequently decided to cater for it.

A DAA spokesman indicated that the company would seek a further increase in airport charges from the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) if this occurred.

"The DAA would require the full support of the regulatory authorities to remunerate the significant investment in piers, contact stands, fuelling facilities required to service an A380."

According to DAA chief executive Declan Collier, the DAA believes it would make little commercial sense to cater for the A380, as the airport will not have a runway capable of handling it until at least 2012.

"The A380 is effectively an aircraft that allows people to operate from superhubs, like Heathrow. We do see ourselves as being one. We clearly see big opportunities operating as a mini to medium-sized hub so we'd be operating with 777 and 787s etc, " he said.

The DAA has indicated that it believes Dublin airport will be an attractive European hub for airlines from the Middle East, Australasia, India and China, which have been among the largest purchasers of the aircraft. For instance, Australian carrier Qantas has ordered 20 A380s while Emirates has ordered 55.

Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs, said however that the issue of A380s at Dublin was a red herring which distracted people from the "grossly excessive" nature of the proposed new terminal.

"They want to take the focus from the real issue, which is that they've been pulling the wool over people's eyes with regard to the terminal project, " he said.