The number of people passing through Irish airports in the second quarter of the year rose by 1.6 million as air travel returned to pre-pandemic levels. Photograph: Fiachra GallagherThe number of people passing through Irish airports in the second quarter of the year rose by 1.6 million as air travel returned to pre-pandemic levels, new data showed.
The Central Statistics Office said 10.7 million passengers passed through Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock, and Kerry airports in April, May and June, compared with 9.1 million a year earlier. In the second quarter of 2019, the figure was 10.5 million, despite having a higher number of flights in that year.
In total, more than 18.3 million passengers used Irish airports in the first half of the year, an increase of 4.5 million year on year. Some 5.4 million passengers left from Ireland, an increase of more than 800,000 compared with 2019. There were almost 74,000 flights to and from Irish airports in the second quarter of the year, up 7,500 compared to 2022, but 287 fewer than in 2019. The majority of the flights were in Dublin, which accounted for 83 per cent, with Cork handling 7 per cent.