According to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), Irish air traffic declined by 56.6% year-on-year during the first nine months of 2020.
The IAA also stated that the number of flights handled in Ireland in September specifically decreased by 64.8% year-on-year to 38,172.
In a statement published on the IAA's website, the authority's chief executive, Peter Kearney, said, "Up to the end of September, we handled 390,893 flights. During the same period last year, we handled 901,707. The collapse of air traffic started in mid-March. Until then, air traffic was normal. As the COVID 19 pandemic spread, the traffic dropped from 73,557 flights in February to 14,907 flights in April. The traffic loss in April represented an 84.5% drop compared to April 2019, when there were 96,131 flights."
Dublin, Cork And Shannon Airports Flight Movements
According to IAA data, Dublin Airport recorded 6,630 flights in September, which was a 68.8% year-on-year decrease; Cork Airport flight traffic movements decreased by 76.2% year-on-year last month to 477; and Shannon Airport flight traffic movements decreased by 71.4% year-on-year to 557 last month.
Overflight Traffic And North Atlantic Communications Flights
IAA data also states that Ireland's overflight traffic movements (flights that do not land in Ireland) decreased by 64.7% year-on-year in September from 32,157 to 11,367.
Additionally, the number of North Atlantic communications flights (Europe/US) decreased by 68.3% year-on-year in September from 47,532 to 15,070.
Dublin Airport Passenger Traffic
The release of the above information from the IAA follows news from earlier this week that the number of people that passed through Dublin Airport declined by 87% year-on-year in September to just over 392,000.
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
