April was a record month for passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, with a total of 2.83 million passengers travelling through it during the month, according to airport operator DAA. The numbers passing through Dublin Airport were marginally higher (+0.7%) than the 2.81 million passengers who passed through in the previous busiest April, in 2019, and up by 18% from 2.39 million passengers in April 2022. In the first four months of 2023, just shy of 9.5 million passengers have passed through Dublin Airport.
At Cork Airport, passenger numbers in April totalled 250,030, representing a 30% increase on April 2022 and a 19% increase on April 2019. Given the significant uplift in passenger traffic, Cork Airport has revised its 2023 passenger forecast upwards, with 2.6 million passengers expected to fly to and from the Munster airport this year. By the end of 2023, Cork Airport will have fully recovered its pre-pandemic passenger traffic (2019: 2.6 million).
DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs said, “The resumption of key summer services at Cork Airport, including those to destinations such as Frankfurt, Germany; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and a new route to Bristol, UK, provides even more choice for passengers at the busiest and best-connected airport serving the south of Ireland. The resumption of these services also offers continental European and UK holidaymakers the opportunity to directly access the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, and all that Munster and the south of Ireland has to offer from Cork Airport.
“The month of May is set to be busy, too, at both Dublin and Cork airports, as we see large numbers travelling for big events, including the culmination of the football season in the UK, a number of big rugby matches, including the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals in Dublin, as well as the beginning of the summer concert season, with a string of big gigs set to take place, starting with Bruce Springsteen this weekend.”
Dublin Airport Recycling Progress
DAA also reported progress in its efforts to make its airports more sustainable. A trial of new waste segregation methods in a select number of security lanes during the first quarter of 2023 resulted in a threefold increase in the amount of recycling undertaken. The trial proved so successful that the new procedures have now been extended to all security screening lanes in Terminal 1.
Passenger Advice For Summer
Passengers travelling from Cork Airport are advised to arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before their flight is due to depart.
Passengers travelling out of Dublin Airport over the coming weeks and months are advised to be in their terminal two hours prior to a short-haul flight and three hours before a long-haul departure.
Anyone travelling this summer should be aware of the worsening French air traffic control situation and the potential for continuing industrial action. This could generate delays that impact passengers departing Irish airports to destinations in France and on flights that need to cross French airspace.
April In Numbers
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*Departing on-time performance at Dublin Airport impacted in April by:
- air traffic control industrial action in mainland Europe
Read More: Dublin And Cork Airports Hosted 2.66m Passengers In March
© 2023 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
