Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport up 2% in June to 3.6 million

Busiest day record broken three times in the month.

World Cup connectors, summer holidays and inbound tourists boost numbers.

Just over 3.6 million passengers went through Dublin Airport in June, up 2% on the same month last year as the busy summer season continued.

A total of 3,616,192 passengers went through in June, making it the 15^th consecutive month of passenger growth at Dublin Airport, according to airport operator daa.

Through the first six months of 2026, just under 18 million passengers have passed through Dublin Airport, which is +6% higher compared to the same period last year.

June was a consistently busy month, with all 30 days seeing the airport welcome upwards of 100,000 passengers. The airport’s record busiest day (previously 130,477 on August 10, 2025) was broken three times in the month with the new busiest day being Sunday, 28 June when a total of 136,375 passengers travelled through our terminals. The other two (short-lived) busiest days were Sunday, June 21 (135,477) and Friday, June 26 (131,605).

While the airport was busy, the operation moved smoothly for passengers with more than 95% of departing passengers clearing security screening in 15 minutes or less.

Main drivers in June

daa said the strong performance in June was the result of the busy summer holiday season kicking into top gear, large numbers of inbound tourists coming to enjoy a summer break in Ireland and also strong demand from connecting passengers from all around the UK and Europe, utilising Dublin Airport’s great links to North America to reach the football World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The busiest outbound routes in the month were: 1) London Heathrow; 2) Amsterdam; 3) Manchester; 4) Malaga; 5) London Gatwick.

According to Gary McLean, Manager Director of Dublin Airport: “June was a busy month at Dublin Airport, with an average of 120,500 passengers travelling through every day. The strong performance in June ended a record-breaking first half of the year for us, with passenger numbers through the first six months of the year up 6% year-on-year. It was no surprise to see our busiest day eclipsed in June and it is possible that the new record will be eclipsed again over the coming weeks as the busy summer period remains in top gear, buoyed by passengers travelling to/from Ireland in connection with the EU presidency.

“Football was a big driver of traffic in June. While Ireland didn’t make it to the World Cup, the airport’s North American routes were busy with football fans, with supporters of the likes of Norway, Scotland and England travelling to the United States via Dublin, making use of our strong transatlantic route network and US pre-clearance facility. In total, the number of passengers on our transatlantic routes was 9% higher than June last year. We’re also seeing strong numbers of tourists coming into Dublin this summer, which is good news for hospitality businesses across the island.”

Standards for Passengers

Dublin Airport has introduced a number of new enhancements for passengers in recent weeks, including the opening of the new Bruno pizza outlet in Terminal 1 (airside) and the installation of new pantograph electric bus chargers. The chargers, part of a €17 million investment by daa*, provide ultrafast charging for a new fleet of electric shuttle buses that will transport the approximately 2.5 million passengers who travel between the airport’s car parks and terminal buildings each year.

Gary McLean added: “We’re continually looking at ways we can make the airport better for passengers. The introduction of Bruno in T1 is proving a big hit with passengers who want to grab a quick slice of pizza on the way to their departure gate and is the latest addition to our extensive range of food and drink options in both terminals, which now extends to 40+ outlets. Passengers are enjoying the choice and we are delighted that our transformation of the food and drink offering at Dublin Airport over the past few years was this week recognised by judges at The Airport F&B + Hospitality Conference & Awards, who named Dublin Airport as “Airport Food & Beverage Offer of the Year – Regional Winner (Europe)”, while Ryan’s Pub in Terminal 2, which opened in late 2025, was named ‘Pub of the Year’.”

* Part of this funding came from a €4.7 million grant from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility – Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (CEF AFIF).