The number of passengers carried by both Dublin and Cork Airports exceeded pre-Covid levels during February, according to figures provided by operator DAA.
February was a record month at both Dublin and Cork Airports, with more than 2 million and 157,000 passengers travelling through respectively.
The number of passengers through Dublin Airport in February was 3 per cent higher than in February 2019 and 1 per cent higher than the previous busiest-ever February, in 2020. The number of passengers at Cork Airport was 4 per cent higher than in February 2019.
The number of passengers travelling through Dublin Airport in February was 55 per cent higher than in February 2022, with numbers in Cork Airport up 63 per cent on February 2022.
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At Dublin Airport, February saw some of the busiest days of 2023 so far, with a busy period around Valentine’s Day followed by strong travel activity during the school mid-term break.
Nevertheless, security screening once again moved smoothly throughout February, with 96 per cent of passengers passing through in less than 20 minutes and virtually all through in under 30 minutes.
At Cork Airport, passenger numbers through the opening two months of the year totalled 318,000, which is 96 per cent higher than in 2022 and up 6 per cent on 2019.
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Overall, the total number of passengers carried by DAA’s two Irish airports during February this year was 2.22 million, up from 2.16 million in February 2019 and 1.42 million in February 2022.
DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs said: “The addition of an extra bank holiday weekend in February, combined with Valentine’s Day and the mid-term school break, meant February was another very busy month at both Dublin and Cork Airports.
“Passenger numbers at both airports were boosted by the Six Nations rugby, which saw thousands of French fans travelling to watch their match against Ireland, while many thousands of Irish fans headed to the games in Wales and Italy.”
Mr Jacobs said the busiest day at Cork Airport during the month was Sunday, February 19th, with 7,382 passengers travelling through, while the busiest day at Dublin Airport was Sunday, February 12th, with 96,000 passengers.
“The most popular destination from both Dublin and Cork Airports was London Heathrow,” he said. “In total, 83 per cent of flights from Cork Airport departed on time in January, while 80 per cent were on time leaving Dublin Airport.
“March is set to be another busy month and we’re expecting passenger numbers to once again be close to 2019 levels, with two more rugby internationals set to take place, either side of what will be a busy St Patrick’s Day period.”
DAA said both Dublin and Cork Airports beat their energy targets of a 10 per cent reduction in electricity and gas consumption in terminals and campus buildings by the end of February.
There was a 17 per cent drop in energy use reported at Cork Airport and a 19 per cent drop at Dublin Airport versus the October 2019 and February 2020 period.
The reductions were achieved by identifying more than 50 measures to reduce energy use over the winter months.
These ranged from dimming lighting both internally in terminals and externally on campus roads and car parks, reducing escalator and travelators run times, and reducing the temperature in campus buildings and terminals.
