Dublin Passenger Numbers Up 8% To 21.7M

Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by 8% last year to 21.7 million. It was also a record year for transatlantic traffic and transfer passengers.

Dublin Airport, Ireland’s main international gateway and a key indicator for the Irish economy, saw growth across all major sectors of its business during 2014. The growth is expected to continue into this year, with 14 new services due to begin in 2015.

Long-haul traffic recorded a strong performance last year, as the number of passengers taking flights to North America and the Middle East increased by 14%. Short-haul traffic increased by 7%.

“Dublin Airport had a very strong year of passenger growth in 2014, adding more than 1.5 million extra passengers and outperforming the average airport growth rates across the European Union,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison.

“The growth was due to a combination of 24 new routes last year and additional flights on 34 existing services,” he added. Airlines such as Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Flybe, British Airways, and WestJet all added new services from Dublin Airport last year and 11 carriers increased capacity on their existing services.

In volume terms, the British market delivered the largest growth last year, as an extra 600,000 people took flights between Dublin and British destinations in 2014. About 570,000 additional passengers took flights between Dublin Airport and continental European destinations last year.

Transatlantic traffic increased by 14%, as more than 2.1 million people travelled on flights between Dublin and North America during 2014.

“Dublin Airport’s transatlantic business set an all-time record last year, as this was the first time that more than 2 million people took transatlantic flights to and from Dublin Airport in a single year,” said Vincent Harrison. Last year’s transatlantic business was boosted by new services to Toronto, San Francisco and St John’s Newfoundland.

Transfer traffic also set a new record last year, with almost 750,000 passengers using Dublin Airport as a hub in 2014, which was a 37% increase on the previous year. “Dublin Airport has established itself as a player in the transatlantic transfer market over the past couple of years and we see significant potential for further expansion this area,” he said. “This summer, Dublin Airport will have 158 departures per week to North America, making it Europe’s sixth largest airport for transatlantic connectivity.”

Passenger traffic to and from continental Europe, which is the biggest market segment at Dublin Airport, increased by 5% last year to 11.1 million with new routes and extra capacity on existing services. Almost 7.8 million people travelled between Dublin and Britain by air in 2014, which was an 8% increase on the previous year.

Transatlantic passenger numbers increased by 14% to a record 2.1 million, while passenger traffic to other international destinations – mainly the Middle East and North Africa - increased by 19% to a record 643,000. Domestic passenger numbers increased by 7% to 72,000 last year.

Dublin Airport already has 14 new services in place for 2015 and will welcome new airlines such as Ethiopian, Vueling, WOW Air, and Transavia to Dublin over the coming months.

“We’re hopeful of another year of good passenger growth in 2015,” said Vincent Harrison. “We have six new continental European services for this year, three new transatlantic services, three new UK services, and two new services to Africa. The growing network offered from Dublin by our airline partners gives the travelling public greater choice, flexibility and convenience whether they are travelling for business or for pleasure.”