Air passenger figures 11 times higher than 2021

Muireann Duffy

Over 4.7 million passengers passed through the State's five main airports in the first three months of the year, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figure was 11 times that of the same period last year, however, remained 21 per cent below the first three months of 2020, prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.

Approximately 32,000 more flights flew to and from Irish airports between January-March this year compared to 2021, bringing the total flights figure at the five airports (Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry) to just over 41,000.

Dublin Airport handled the majority of these journeys, accounting for 35,120 flights (85 per cent), followed by 2,683 flights to and from Cork (7 per cent).

The most popular routes from Dublin during the three-month period was London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick and Amsterdam-Schiphol, while London-Stansted was the top route for Cork, Shannon and Knock. Kerry's leading Q1 route was London-Luton.

The data showed passenger numbers have been steadily increasing from the start of the year, rising from 1.09 million in January to 1.52 million in February, before jumping further to 2.09 million in March.