Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by 15% to 11.5 million during the first six months of the year, according to daa. The airport has welcomed over 1.5 million extra passengers so far in the first half of 2015.
“Dublin Airport had very strong passenger growth in the first six months of 2015 increasing by over three times the European average,” said Vincent Harrison, Dublin Airport Managing Director. “The outlook for the rest of the year remains positive with 2015 on course to be the busiest in the airport’s history. The growth is due to 22 new routes/services starting in the first half of the year as well as additional capacity on a number on existing services.”
With over 122 destinations to choose from, passenger traffic to and from continental Europe grew by 16% in the first six months with almost 5.9 million passengers travelling. UK passenger traffic is up 13% with over 4.2 million passengers flying to and from 25 UK cities in the first six months.
Transatlantic traffic increased by 12%, as just over one million people travelled between Dublin and North America during the first half of the year. This summer 10 airlines are flying 328 flights to and from North America to 11 destinations in the USA and four in Canada – an average of 47 flights per day.
Other international traffic, which includes flights to two destinations in the Middle East and three to African destinations, rose by 33% with almost 370,000 passengers flying to and from these locations.
The number of passengers on domestic flights increased by 19% for the first six months with almost 36,000 people taking flights within the Republic of Ireland.
“We welcomed six new airlines in the first six months of the year, offering greater choice and flexibility for business and leisure passengers,” added Vincent.
Dublin Airport, which is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, has flights to 167 destinations.
