Total number of weekend flights approaches 90% of pre-Covid levels

Air travel’s recovery gained more altitude over the bank holiday weekend with flights nearing 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, official figures show.

State airports expected almost 330,000 people over the June bank holiday weekend, which marks the start of air travel’s busiest months.

Figures from European air navigation body, Eurocontrol, show that the total number of flights in or out of the Republic over the weekend approached 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

According to the organisation, 856 flights arrived or departed here on bank holiday Monday, June 6th.

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That was 88 per cent of the 971 flights that the Republic hosted on June 3rd, 2019, which was the bank holiday Monday that year.

Figures show that the gap narrowed last Friday, which kicked off the weekend, with 875 flights this year versus 899 on the bank holiday Friday – May 31st – in 2019.

On Sunday, 829 flights entered or left the Republic, while on the comparable day in 2019, the figure was 950.

The biggest gap appeared on Saturday, with 766 aircraft arriving or leaving against 914 on the same day three years ago.

The Republic’s figures were better than the European total on Monday. In all, there were 29,598 flights in Eurocontrol’s area that day, 86.2 per cent of the 2019 total, which was 34,325.

Areas that Eurocontrol monitors include the EU, UK, along with Morocco, Israel, Ukraine and Armenia.

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Irish air travel’s recovery lagged Europe’s through last year as the Government here only allowed reopening several weeks after the rest of the EU.

Eurocontrol’s figures show that the UK had the highest number of flights on Monday, with 5,970. Spain ranked second with 4,917 while Germany had the third highest number with 4,875.

Between the Republic’s three State-owned airports, which account for the bulk of air travel, they expected to handle 328,000 travellers over the bank holiday weekend.

Dublin Airport anticipated around 243,000, Cork expected to handle 50,000 passengers while Shannon estimated the total would be 35,000.

Globally, air travel’s recovery has overtaken most predictions. Early last year, Eurocontrol said it could take until 2024 before passenger numbers reached 2019 levels.

However, the sudden rebound has resulted in bottlenecks caused mostly by staff shortages. These hit Dublin two weekends ago, when 1,000 passengers missed flights when the airport had fewer security staff than rostered.

Two weeks ago, Air France KLM capped flight sales on services from Amsterdam Schiphol, one of Europe’s biggest hubs, to create extra space for passengers who missed their flights when a shortage of airport security staff caused delays. Its operator Royal Schiphol Group has pledged to hire more frontline workers.

Some airlines cut schedules in other European countries as both they and airports struggled with staff and other shortages.