Just less than 41.0 million people used Irish airports in 2024, the highest number of passengers recorded since the series began in 2013.
Almost 1.8 million or 5% more passengers used Irish airports in 2024 compared with 2023.
Passenger numbers in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2024 were 2% higher when compared with Q4 2023
Over 279,000 flights were handled by Ireland's five main airports in 2024, with Dublin handling 84% of all flights (234,570), while Cork handled 7% of all flights (20,864).
The number of flights to and from Irish airports rose by 2% when compared with 2023 figures.
London-Heathrow, Amsterdam-Schiphol, and Manchester were the most popular routes for passengers travelling through Dublin airport in 2024. The top route for Cork and Shannon airports was London-Heathrow, for Knock airport it was London-Stansted, and for Kerry airport it was Dublin.
Air freight handled by Irish airports in 2024 was up by 12% compared with 2023.
Figure 1 gives the passenger numbers from 2017 to 2024. Figures 2 and 3 show the percentage distribution of passengers handled in 2024 and 2020. Table 1 gives data on passenger numbers for Quarter 4 and Year, 2019 to 2024. Detailed data on arrivals and departures of passengers, freight and flights can be seen in Tables 2 to 10.
| X-axis label | Year |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 34.4 |
| 2018 | 36.5 |
| 2019 | 38.1 |
| 2020 | 8.3 |
| 2021 | 9.1 |
| 2022 | 32.5 |
| 2023 | 39.2 |
| 2024 | 41 |
| Passenger number distribution by airport, 2024 | |
| Dublin | 84 |
| Cork | 7 |
| Shannon | 5 |
| Other | 4 |
| Passenger number distribution by airport, 2020 | |
| Dublin | 88 |
| Cork | 6 |
| Shannon | 3 |
| Other | 3 |
| X-axis label | Shannon | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 11 | 89 |
| 2021 | 10 | 90 |
| 2022 | 11 | 89 |
| 2023 | 10 | 90 |
| 2024 | 9 | 91 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 April 2025) published Aviation Statistics for Quarter 4 (Q4) and Year 2024. Passenger numbers were received for the five main airports: Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock, and Kerry.
Commenting on the release, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Agriculture, Transport & Tourism Division, said: “The figures show an increase in international travel during 2024 with the number of passengers using Irish airports at record level. Just less than 41.0 million people travelled through the five main airports in the country throughout the year, which was the highest number of passengers since the series began in 2013.
Data shows that the number of passengers travelling to and from Ireland were up by 5% compared with 2023.
Over 891,000 more passengers travelled to Ireland in 2024 when compared with 2023.
In 2024, 20.5 million passengers departed from Ireland, which was almost 906,000 more than the same period in 2023.
In October, November, and December (Q4) 2024, 9.2 million passengers passed through Irish airports, which was over 144,000 more passengers when compared with the same period in 2023.
Airports and Routes
Over 279,000 flights were handled by Ireland's five main airports in 2024, with Dublin handling 84% of all flights (234,570), while Cork accounted for 7% of all flights (20,864). The number of flights in 2024 rose by 2% when compared with 2023.
London-Heathrow, Amsterdam-Schiphol, and Manchester were the most popular routes for passengers travelling through Dublin airport in 2024. The top route for Cork and Shannon airports was London-Heathrow, for Knock airport it was London-Stansted, and for Kerry airport it was Dublin.”