Dublin Airport released new statistics showing that more than 20 million passengers have passed through its doors so far this year, representing a 6% increase in traffic compared to the same period last year.
The growth in passenger numbers means that the airport has already facilitated an additional 1.2 million travellers in 2017.
Almost 3.1 million passengers used the airport in August alone, making it the second consecutive month that Dublin Airport has played host to more than three million travellers. Passenger numbers also increased by 7% last month, resulting in the busiest August in the history of the airport.
Passenger volumes to and from continental Europe increased by 7%, with more than 1.6 million passengers travelling to European destinations during August. However, the number of people travelling to British destinations was flat last month compared to 2016, with just over 922,000 passengers taking flights to and from the UK.
Meanwhile, more than 409,000 passengers travelled to North America in August, which was a 21% increase on the same month last year. Traffic to other international destinations, which includes flights to Africa and the Middle East, increased by 14%, with 95,000 passengers travelling on these routes throughout August.
Passenger numbers on domestic routes, on the other hand, declined by 1%, with 10,000 people travelling on domestic flights last month.
The new data also indicated that the number of passengers using Dublin Airport as a hub to connect to another destination increased by 42% in the first eight months of 2017, with more than one million passengers transferring at Dublin so far this year.
