October was the busiest month for Cork and Dublin Airport

October was the busiest month for both Dublin and Cork Airports, with 3.1 million passengers through their terminals.

This is an increase of two per cent on last year.

Dublin Airport saw 2.9 million passengers go through the terminal doors of the Airport in October, making it the busiest October ever in Dublin Airport’s 84-year history.

The busiest day of the month was Monday, October 21st, when 114,000 passengers went through the airport’s two terminals.

A total of 28.7 million passengers have passed through the doors of Dublin Airport so far in 2024, an increase of five per cent on the same period in 2023.

Cork Airport enjoyed another stellar month in October as it welcomed 260,000 passengers, two per cent more than October 2023.

Commenting, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Demand to get on and off our island shows no sign of dropping, with Cork and Dublin airports welcoming unprecedented numbers of passengers every month this year.

"The trend continued in October, with our staff in Cork and Dublin working hard to get millions of passengers on their way with a smile, whether here for the Cork jazz, the Dublin Marathon or heading overseas.

“Ireland is not alone in seeing a resurgence of air travel. Across the water, UK airports ranging from Heathrow to Gatwick to Manchester are also shattering previous passenger records and planning to grow further. Meanwhile Ireland, a nation so celebrated for aviation and promising a hundred thousand welcomes, is reducing growth at its key gateway to the world.

"We need to protect Irish jobs, connectivity and economic prosperity, but every day we hear new concerns from impacted people, ranging from tourism businesses worried about falling footfall or sports fans and organisations worried about getting to Ireland for events that put us on the map.

“Even though daa wants to facilitate and support this demand, we are obliged to do our utmost to comply with the cap, despite not controlling the slot process. It’s far from ideal that we are caught in this quagmire while international airports are surging ahead with their growth plans and doing their best to attract airlines and routes away from Ireland.

"We welcome all efforts to promote more joined-up thinking in both the planning system and strategic infrastructure development so our island nation can thrive.”