Record numbers for Cork Airport in 2023

CORK Airport has recorded its busiest year for international traffic in its 62-year history.

Some 2.8m passengers travelled through Cork Airport in 2023, a 25% increase on 2022, when 2.24m passengers used the airport.

A total of 19,736 flights arrived at or departed from Cork Airport in 2023.

Together, Cork Airport and Dublin Airport, the country’s two busiest airports, welcomed 35m passengers in 2023, according to figures released yesterday by Daa, the operator of both airports.

Cork Airport also recorded a busy end to the year, with 196,800 passengers either flying to or from the facility last month — a 20% increase on December 2022.

The number of flights that arrived at or departed Cork Airport in December was 1,433 — London Heathrow being the most popular destination.

Cork Airport’s strong-performing European hub routes, London Heathrow (Aer Lingus), Amsterdam (Aer Lingus, KLM), and Paris Charles de Gaulle (Air France), were some of the main drivers of growth in 2023.

Significant investments were also made by Daa in key capital infrastructure, including a €6.2m electrical substation, with financial support from the Department of Transport, which opened in November 2023.

Daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Cork Airport is the fastest-growing airport in Ireland, and Cork’s strategic location is proving very attractive from a traffic-development point of view.

“The addition of five new summer routes and four winter routes contributed to Cork Airport’s strong growth, and the addition of these new routes was in direct response to the demand that exists in Munster and south Leinster for new and exciting destinations.”

Mr Jacobs also thanked the team at Cork Airport for delivering a record-breaking year in 2023.

“With further growth anticipated in 2024, Cork Airport will continue to offer a best-in-class service to passengers, with more new and exciting destinations in the pipeline,” said Mr Jacobs.