Dublin Airport passenger numbers up +1% in April to 3.1 million

A total of 3.11 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport in April, up +1.1% on the same month last year, according to airport operator daa.

April was the 13th consecutive month of growth in passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, buoyed by a busy Easter weekend, which saw strong numbers travelling in and out of Ireland, including many thousands of tourists.

Through the first four months of 2026, Dublin Airport handled a total of 10.8 million passengers – around 860,000 higher than the same period last year.

In total, 21 of the 30 days in April saw more than 100,000 passengers travelling through the airport.

The busiest day in the month was Sunday 12th April with 118,800 passengers.

The strong performance in April saw Dublin Airport maintain tenth position for capacity amongst EU airports.

April Commentary

According to Gary McLean, Managing Director of Dublin Airport: “The busy start to the year at Dublin Airport continued in April, meaning passenger numbers at the end of the first four months were 8% ahead of the same period last year. The pace of growth slowed markedly in April compared to the opening three months of the year, which saw sharper year-on-year increases versus the corresponding months in 2025 when a winter slot capacity restriction was in place. Looking ahead to the coming summer months, we are anticipating growth of around 2% per month in passenger numbers.

“April was an exciting month for passengers with the opening of the new The Phoenix Lounge and a new Fast Track facility in Terminal 1, both of which are already going down a storm with travellers. The month also saw a number of exciting route additions, including Aer Lingus’ service to Raleigh Durham, which is operating five times per week, and Ryanair’s twice weekly service to Tirana in Albania. Passengers can look forward to more great routes being added in the coming weeks, including China Eastern’s service to Shanghai which will start flying three times per week from mid-July, and Aer Lingus’ new route to Pittsburgh, which will run four times per week from May 25,” McLean added.

Passenger Cap Latest

daa welcomes the confirmation from Minister Darragh O’Brien that he will publish legislation later this month, which will address the 32 million passenger cap on Dublin Airport and the ongoing uncertainty about the airport’s capacity.

Gary McLean said: “We look forward seeing the detail of the legislation when it is published. Meanwhile, daa continues to work with the planning authorities and other stakeholders to progress its broader €2bn infrastructure plan, which will upgrade and expand Dublin Airport’s capacity and facilities and ensure the airport can continue to cater for increases in population and demand.”

Middle East Update

Disruption to Middle Eastern flights continued in April, with capacity on those routes down by around 30%. However, numbers to and from the Middle East are set to increase over the coming weeks as airlines further increase their schedules.

Qatar Airways have indicated that they will up their services between Doha and Dublin to 14 weekly flights from next week, up from 12 currently, before increasing further to 17 flights per week from mid-June. Both Emirates and Etihad are back flying double daily services each way between Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively.