Dublin Airport has registered a 10 per cent increase in the number of passengers returning through the airport in the last week. According to figures released by the Department of Justice, over 11,000 passengers arrived into Dublin Airport, the majority of which (7,200) were Irish residents who gave their reason for travelling as holidaying or visiting abroad.
Under Irish government rules, all passengers coming into the country must have a negative PCR test result.
Legislation making hotel quarantining mandatory has been passed in both houses of the Oireachtas and is expected to be signed into law by President Higgins next week. However, the legislation only mandates quarantine for passengers returning from 33 high risk countries. Opposition parties have called for the rule to be extended to all returning passengers. Despite the increase in numbers, traffic through Dublin Airport remains at a record low. Arriving passenger numbers were down 96% last week compared to the same week in 2020; February 2019 saw more than two million passengers use the airport – an average of around 525,000 passengers a week.
