St Brigid’s weekend to see Dublin Airport welcome over 380,000 passengers

Dublin Airport is looking forward to welcoming 382,000 passengers over the coming St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend – around 40,000 more than travelled over the same weekend last year.

The busiest day of the long bank holiday weekend – the first of the year – is forecast to be Friday when just over 100,000 passengers are expected through the airport’s terminals. An average of 95,000 passengers per day will go through Dublin Airport between Friday and Monday.

Many of those will be winter sun-seekers, while Ireland is also set to welcome many visitors from around the world who are coming to Ireland to enjoy the increasingly popular St Brigid’s weekend festival, which will see events taking place all around the island.

According to Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at daa, the operator of Dublin Airport: “The first bank holiday weekend of the year is going to be a busy one in both the departures and arrivals halls at Dublin Airport and we can’t wait to welcome everyone.

“We’re expecting thousands of tourists from around the world who are visiting Ireland for a winter break. Events and festivals are a big driver of inward tourism these days and the addition of the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend is proving to be a popular reason to visit Ireland at what was previously a quiet time of year. Numbers travelling this weekend are likely to be 12% higher than the same weekend last year. This sharp increase reflects the suspension by the High Court of the seat restrictions that were in place last year due to the airport cap, and the recent addition of great new routes to likes of Cancun and Tromso, which are already proving very popular.

“A lot of Ireland-based travellers will also avail of the coming long weekend to get away for a city break, some winter sun or to visit loved ones overseas. It’s perhaps no surprise to see so many heading for the departure gates this weekend following what has been a very wet and dreary start to 2026 in Ireland,” said McQueen.

Passenger Advice
Passengers departing from Dublin Airport over the coming days are reminded to arrive at their terminal two hours before a short-haul flight and three hours prior to a long-haul flight.

Passengers are reminded that they no longer need to remove liquids or electronics from their hand luggage at security screening, while the old 100ml limit on liquids and gels has also been taken away following the completion of the rollout of new scanning technology in both terminals at Dublin Airport.