With spring just around the corner, 34,000 passengers will fly to and from Cork Airport over the coming St. Brigid’s Bank Holiday weekend. Since its introduction in 2023, the bank holiday has proven to be a popular weekend for international travel with many taking the opportunity to enjoy a weekend city break in the UK or Europe.
The bank holiday weekend will also see thousands of passengers fly into Cork as visitors come to enjoy Cork and the surrounding region on a weekend when the country honours its female patron saint. This weekend, visitors can enjoy local festivals like the Ballincollig Winter Music Festival (January 26 – February 2) and Kinsale Beatlemania Weekend (January 30 – February 1), amongst many others.
Cork Airport has recorded a strong start to 2026, and the airport’s ski services have been exceptionally busy with very strong load factors on services to Lyon, Munich, Salzburg and the newest addition, Geneva. Over the past two weekends, Topflight for Schools has introduced its seasonal charter services to Verona, with students from schools across Munster and beyond flying to the slopes for ski holidays. Throughout January, large numbers of passengers also took the opportunity to travel to sunnier climes, with flights to Malaga, Faro, Alicante, Lanzarote and Tenerife all experiencing considerable increases in load factors.
With the 2026 Summer Schedule starting in March, three new routes will be added this year – two new Aer Lingus routes to Nice, France and Santiago de Compostela, Spain along with a new SunExpress route to Antalya in Türkiye. European hub connectivity is set for a major boost this year with 60% more seats to/from some of Europe’s busiest and best-connected airports – Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt and Zurich. Direct services between Cork and two major UK cities are also set to increase this summer. Aer Lingus Regional will fly a six times per week service to Glasgow from May – October while Ryanair will fly a daily service to Liverpool in April and again from June – October.
As the St. Brigid’s Bank Holiday weekend approaches, Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport said: “2026 is off to a fantastic start for Cork Airport and we’re looking forward to another excellent year. As we invest in our facilities and make progress on some major capital investment projects, I’m very proud of our team who are delivering a safe and pleasant arriving passenger journey despite extensive construction within the terminal and on the campus.”
For those travelling this St. Brigid’s Bank Holiday weekend, passengers are advised to arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before their flight is due to depart.
