daa has announced that a total of 3.8 million sun seekers, sport fans, Olympians, and more, travelled through Dublin and Cork airports in August, continuing the trend of record-breaking demand for international travel this summer. 3.46 million passengers went through the terminal doors of Dublin Airport, making this August the busiest month ever in Dublin Airport’s 84-year history. The week of the 12th of August took the medal for busiest week ever with 829,000 passengers, while Sunday, the 18th of August was the busiest day ever, with 124,600 passengers going through the airport’s two terminals. Between May and August, over 10 million passengers passed through the doors of Dublin Airport. This brings the total number to 22.7 million passengers so far in 2024. As of the end of August, terminals passenger numbers are trending 5.5% ahead of 2023, and this trend is forecast to continue into September.
A dampening of passenger numbers is expected from late autumn as a result of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) winter slot decision. This reduces the number of seats airlines flying into Dublin Airport can offer to passengers between November and March. Some airlines operating at Dublin have also decided to reduce the scale of their operations because of the uncertainty with the 32 million terminals passenger cap. daa has made extensive efforts to reduce passenger numbers to comply with planning including the removal of airline incentives at Dublin Airport, and the launch by Cork Airport of a new scheme to encourage airlines to move seat capacity from Dublin to Cork. However, based on current forecasted passenger numbers to year end, Dublin Airport’s terminals passenger numbers in 2024 will exceed the 32 million planning condition.
Commenting on the August figures, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said, “Overall, I’m optimistic about the future except for one thing: the fact that growth at Dublin Airport is now being stalled by an outdated passenger cap, a very lengthy planning process and a lack of joined-up thinking on critical infrastructure in Ireland. This leaves Dublin Airport caught between a rock and a hard place. We want to grow so we can continue to connect Ireland with the world and support FDI, tourism, and jobs. But while we wait for planning to be granted, we are doing everything we can to comply with existing planning conditions. While our actions to dampen airline demand have reduced passenger numbers by approximately 650,000, we do not control the slot process. We now forecast that passenger numbers will exceed 32 million and will be closer to 33 million in 2024. It is in no one’s interests to curtail tourism and investment at a time when so much public and private money is being spent to do the complete opposite. We are a small, open, island economy on the edge of Europe that has always punched above our weight but we need more joined-up thinking in the development of critical infrastructure. It’s time to all come together to realise an ambitious vision of Ireland that sets us up for the future. This includes support for growth at Dublin Airport, so we can keep delivering for Ireland, and growth at Ireland’s great regional airports at Cork, Shannon, Knock, Kerry and Donegal.”
