Bumper Easter boosts passenger numbers at Ireland’s two biggest airports

Cork Airport passenger numbers up 27% in April.

Dublin Airport numbers grow again as flight slot limit removed.

Zombie cap remains a dark cloud over Dublin Airport.

A busy Easter period ensured bumper passenger numbers at both Cork and Dublin Airport in April, according to airport operator daa.

Easter falling in April this year (as opposed to in March last year) helped generate a bumper 27% increase in passenger numbers at Cork Airport to 309,000.

At Dublin Airport, with the winter stay on flight slots having not been extended into the summer period, passenger numbers grew materially for the first time since last autumn, increasing by 7.5% to 2.9 million following three consecutive months of no growth in the first three months of 2025.

The High Court has suspended any enforcement of the slots limit pending the outcome of a legal case that has been referred to Europe after a legal challenge by airlines, effectively preventing the cap from being considered by the regulator when assigning slots to airlines.

As well as Easter, numbers at both airports were buoyed in April by the addition of new routes, tourists coming to Ireland during the school holidays and strong business travel levels.

General commentary on April:
According to Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa: “April was a strong month at Cork and Dublin airports both in terms of passenger numbers and also operational performance. When it comes to growth, Cork Airport is a star performer amongst Irish regional airports and Dublin Airport would be too amongst its peer European airports if it wasn’t for the uncertainty of the passenger cap. The positive passenger increases at both airports in April was due to strong numbers travelling over the Easter break, which fell much later this year versus 2024, and the addition of great new routes – including Cork-Bilbao and Dublin-Nashville. I want to thank the brilliant teams operating both airports who made April such a smooth month for our passengers.”

Commentary on Cork Airport:
Kenny Jacobs said: “Cork Airport’s passenger numbers grew by a whopping 27% in April, compared with the same month last year. Cork Airport has started the year strongly, with four consecutive months of growth and the airport continues to cement its position as the fastest growing in the state. Great new routes continue to land at Cork and this month will see TUI’s new flight to Corfu, Aer Lingus’ new flight to Bordeaux and SunExpress’ new flight to Izmir all starting.

“More and more passengers from across the south of Ireland are choosing to fly from Cork, attracted by its growing route choice, friendly service and fast-moving security queues. The team at Cork is playing a blinder and we’re excited about increasing passenger numbers even further over the rest of this year and beyond. We’re planning for this growth with the announcement last week of a €200 million investment by daa Group in Cork Airport’s Capital Development Plan – a blueprint for large infrastructure projects which will grow Cork’s passenger traffic even more over the coming decade.”

Commentary on Dublin Airport:
Kenny Jacobs said: “April was the first month of 2025 in which passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were not artificially constrained given there was a limit on the number of slots that airlines could access over the winter period due to the passenger cap. The 7.8% growth in April shows the high level of pent-up demand that’s out there – both from passengers and airlines – to fly in and out of Dublin Airport.

“The passenger cap is holding Ireland back and making it an outlier amongst other European countries, with figures released this week by Airports Council International showing that passenger traffic in Ireland declined by -0.5% in Q1 2025, while airports in Europe combined saw passenger traffic increase by an average of 4%. This makes no sense when you consider that Ireland is an island nation with a fast-growing population which does – and always will – require good air connectivity. Add in the fact that we’re speaking to airlines every week that want to bring new routes and additional frequencies to Dublin Airport and Ireland finds itself in a farcical situation that is leaving the rest of the world scratching its head.

“With the cap at Dublin Airport having been referred to Europe, and with airlines consequently being able to keep filing for slots, the passenger cap is effectively now a zombie cap and the bigger issue for Ireland is that conversations need to switch to how planning in Ireland can go faster. While some stakeholders insist on putting up barriers as opposed to solutions and hiding behind no-longer-fit-for-purpose processes, all minds now need to focus on identifying answers that will eradicate the zombie passenger cap once and for all and most importantly speed up planning. Dublin Airport is on track to handle more than 36 million passengers in 2025 and it has the capacity to comfortably do so. But the clock is ticking on how long Dublin Airport will be able to accommodate the growth opportunities that are coming Ireland’s way without the addition of the new departure gates, aircraft stands and passenger infrastructure it will need in the near future.”