Aer Lingus and Ryanair said they would carry record numbers of passengers over the coming October Bank Holiday weekend.
Aer Lingus would carry 104,000 customers, according to a spokeswoman. This represented a 20 per cent increase on the corresponding weekend in October last year.
Ryanair expects to carry 95,000 passengers - a 26 per cent increase on the same weekend last year. Though it is not a holiday in Britain, Ryanair is putting on extra flights from the UK to the Irish airports it serves to meet the demand from people living in the UK wishing to visit over the long weekend.
Ms Ethel Power, Ryanair's head of communications, said Irish people were extending the long weekend into a winter holiday in mainland Europe, with Paris proving particularly popular.
The Aer Lingus spokeswoman said it was increasing flights to the US by 50 per cent, or 16,000 seats. Flights to Europe would be increased by 35 per cent, or 21,000 seats.
She said these figures applied only to scheduled services. Charters to ski resorts were not affected.
Mr Eamon Hewitt, Sealink's public relations manager in Ireland, said it would not be putting on extra sailings from Dun Laoghaire and Rosslare.
"Traditionally, we find the existing capacity is adequate to cope with the October Bank Holiday demand," said Mr Hewitt.
Ryanair also announced yesterday details of its winter flights programme. It will operate nearly 1,000 flights weekly, including 20 flights daily from Dublin to London (Stansted, Luton and Gatwick). Ryanair will also operate the first non-stop air link between Glasgow and Paris.