Recently revealed data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) demonstrates that the usage of Irish airports by passengers has seen a marked increase during the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period last year. An additional half a million individuals passed through these airports, bringing the total to 11.2 million across the main airports in Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock, and Kerry.
According to these aviation statistics, this figure presents a 4.7 per cent rise on the 10.7 million arriving and departing passengers from the same period in 2023, and significantly more than the 10.5 million reported in the second quarter of 2019.
The data also shows that for the initial six months of the year, Irish airports saw 1.1 million more passengers when compared to the similar period in 2023, indicating a notable increase in the use of these airports since pre-pandemic times.
The volume of flights arriving and departing the Irish airports also rose by 1,083 in the second quarter in comparison with the equivalent period in 2023. Taking into account the first half of the year, this figure saw an upsurge by 4,217, increasing from 130,572 to 134,789 flights.
Departures from Ireland accounted for 5.7 million passengers in the second quarter, representing a significant upturn of 227,430 on the similar period last year. Moreover, Ireland’s five primary airports processed over 75,000 flights, with Dublin managing the lion’s share at 84 per cent and Cork overseeing 7 per cent.
London-Heathrow, Amsterdam-Schiphol, and Malaga were the most frequented routes for passengers via Dublin Airport within this quarter, with London-Heathrow being a popular destination from Cork and Shannon airports as well. London-Luton factored as a common route for Knock, while Dublin was the preferred route from Kerry. During this period, close to nine in ten passengers on international flights coming or going through the main five airports were headed to or from Europe.
In terms of popularity, the United Kingdom and Spain emerged as the most favoured nations for arrivals or departures. Beyond Europe, the United States held the top spot. There was a significant surge in the traffic of passengers to and from Ireland in June, surpassing the Covid-afflicted June 2020 by over 40 folds and experiencing a growth of 6% compared to June of 2019. There was also an increase of 9% in the volume of air cargo managed by airports in Ireland in the second quarter, in relation to the corresponding period in the previous year.