The number of Northern Ireland residents using Dublin Airport increased by 11% to more than 570,000 last year, according to new data from the Dublin Airport Authority. This is about twice as fast as average passenger numbers at the airport, which increased by almost 6% to 20.2 million in 2013.
“We are continuing to see very strong growth in passengers from Northern Ireland choosing to use Dublin Airport,” said Dublin Airport spokesman Paul O’Kane. “Dublin Airport offers consumers much greater choice in terms of routes and frequencies of service, access is easy and convenient whether travelling by car or bus, and car parking at Dublin Airport is better value than at airports in Northern Ireland.”
Meanwhile, Dublin Airport continues to be a key gateway to Northern Ireland for inbound tourism and leisure visitors, as almost two-thirds of all passengers who come to the island of Ireland by air use Dublin Airport.
“Dublin Airport has a much more extensive international route network than the three airports in Northern Ireland combined, and plays a major role in bringing visitors from Europe, North America, and further afield to Northern Ireland,” Paul added. “Dublin Airport is particularly strong on long-haul routes to North America, and the Middle East and on direct short-haul services to a wide range of European locations, all of which provide large numbers of inbound visitors to Northern Ireland.”
Dublin Airport’s greater choice of flight times and airlines continues to be popular with Northern Ireland residents travelling to London. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are both in the top three destinations for Northern Ireland consumers and all London airports combined make up 17% of overall trips by NI residents using Dublin Airport in 2013.
“We have 15 new routes this summer, including many destinations that are not directly served from airports in Northern Ireland. Our transatlantic business continues to grow significantly and this year we have new direct services to San Francisco, Toronto and St John’s Newfoundland and extra capacity on some existing North American routes.
“We have been making consumers and the travel trade in Northern Ireland more aware of the product available at Dublin Airport and that will continue this year.”
Top 10 Airport Destinations for NI Passengers in 2013
1. London Heathrow
2. Dubai
3. London Gatwick
4. Rome
5. Chicago
6. New York JFK
7. London Stansted
8. Copenhagen
9. Frankfurt
10. Abu Dhabi
Top 10 Country Destinations for NI Passengers in 2013
1. UK
2. USA
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. France
6. Spain
7. UAE
8. Poland
9. Canary Islands
10. Portugal
