Passengers through Dublin Airport’s terminal doors dropped to 2.54 million in March, a decline of 83,000 (-3%) versus the same month last year. This year’s late Easter was a factor in the number of passengers at Dublin. Dublin Airport’s passenger numbers would have been higher in March had Easter fallen then, they would still have been stagnant versus last year due to the impact of the passenger cap. This is the fourth month in a row that passenger numbers at Dublin Airport are down or flat versus the same month last year, despite strong demand from both passengers and airlines to fly in and out of Dublin. This is reflected in the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures showing tourism numbers declining in February versus the same month last year.
The closure of Heathrow Airport on Friday, 21st of March also impacted numbers as more than 30 flights were cancelled. The Dublin-Heathrow route is the second busiest air route in Europe, with 34 flights a day (17 each way) and 6,000 passengers. The Heathrow incident underlines the importance of continually investing in airport infrastructure to ensure resilience and avoid disruption. Dublin Airport regularly conducts business continuity exercises and is studying what happened at Heathrow to ensure the robustness of our plans.
Commenting on the poor performance of the figures at Dublin Airport, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said, “While Cork Airport surges, Dublin is stalled by the passenger cap and slow planning. For four months in a row, Dublin Airport had the same or less passengers than the same month last year in stark contrast to other European airports. The knock-on impacts for tourism and our economy are clear. CSO figures indicate our economy missed out on more than €88 million in February alone compared with the same period last year due to sinking tourist numbers. Dublin Airport’s March figures reflect the slump despite St. Patrick’s Day and Tourism Ireland doing a fantastic job last month promoting Ireland around the world. Our national tourism policy has a stated aim of 5.6% annual revenue growth from overseas visitors each year out to 2030. Achieving this depends on there being no cap on Dublin Airport.
He went on to say, “While we should see a bounce in April due to the late Easter and the lifting of seat restrictions for the summer period while the European courts examine these issues, the summer High Court stay does not mean the cap has gone away. The Irish Aviation Authority, which allocates slots to airlines each season, is due to share its draft decision for winter 2025/26 soon. A new High Court judgement this week means the IAA can’t apply the planning cap restrictions to the slot process until the legal proceedings conclude, but this does not remove the cap or offer a permanent solution. With US tariffs about to hit our economy, this is one area where Ireland has control and can take immediate action to support our economy and jobs. The government has committed to finding a solution to the cap and we strongly welcome the Taoiseach’s statement this week that all options are being looked at to fix this significant economic issue for our country. We urge a fast pace and innovative thinking in resolving the passenger cap issue once and for all. Then we hope planning can move faster so we can get on and build much needed piers and stands that add capacity.”
