CORK Airport has seen its busiest Christmas period in three years, with passenger numbers returning to 93% of pre-Covid figures.

The airport will, it is expected, welcome over 135,000 passengers for the period between December 12 and January 6, with its two busiest days being December 23 and December 27.

Barry Holland, communications manager at Cork Airport, said the lead-up to Christmas of this year had seen an estimated 93% recovery in passenger numbers on 2019, which was the most recent equally comparable period.

“Over the past fortnight, Cork Airport has welcomed passengers travelling from as far away as North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, along with many others travelling from the UK and Continental Europe,” Mr Holland said.

“There have been some happy, emotional scenes at Cork Airport as families reunited once again after extended periods apart.” 

Mr Holland said staff at the airport had been conscious that this was the first opportunity for many to return home in three years, and had put a lot of work into ensuring that arriving passengers were given a warm, festive welcome.

“Over 1,000 performers ranging from local school children to accomplished choirs and orchestral ensembles took to the specially constructed Christmas stage at Cork Airport,” he said.

“Each of these performing groups provided a real festive ambience for arriving passengers.” With such a rebound in passenger traffic, Mr Holland said, Cork Airport is on track to becoming the first state airport to fully recover its pre-pandemic passenger traffic.

"Across the year 2022, Cork Airport will have welcomed over 2.2m departing and arriving passengers," he said.