During the first quarter of 2024, a rise of 8 per cent demonstrated an increase in footfall across Ireland’s five key airports compared to the previous year. This was also a surge of 39 per cent when juxtaposed with 2020’s data, as outlined by recent research from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Over 8.2 million travellers were recorded, indicating an enhancement of beyond 600,000 from the number of individuals accounted for in 2023.
In comparison with 2023, there was a growth of over 2,400 in the quantity of flights departing and arriving at Irish airports. A total of in excess of 59,000 flights were managed by the principal Irish airports, with Dublin accounting for the bulk, at 85% (50,248), and Cork overseeing 7% (4,296).
The favoured routes for passengers via Dublin airport included London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, and Amsterdam-Schiphol. London-Heathrow was the primary route for Cork and Shannon, with London-Stansted the first choice for Knock airport, while for Kerry it was Dublin.
In March 2024, more than two and half times the passenger traffic from March 2020 was noted, showing an 11% increase compared to March 2023.
The volume of air freight experience a surge of 15% compared to 2023. Damien Lenihan, a CSO statistician, confirmed that an extra 300,000 passengers visited Ireland in comparison with the first quarter of 2023, representing just over an additional 1.1 million passengers compared to 2020.
Outbound passenger numbers were beyond 4.1 million, an enhancement of more than 300,000 over 2023 and around 1.2 million more than 2020.
Air freight measurements showed a 15% growth to 42,769 tonnes in the early three months of 2024 compared to 2023.
Of all international passengers through these airports, 88% were going to or arriving from Europe, with Britain and Spain being the most frequented countries. The United States stood out as the most travelled to location beyond Europe.
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