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E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Olive Loughnane +353 21 453 5161
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information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-7581
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Aviation Statistics

2014

Total number of passengers handled by Irish airports 2012 - 2014
     
 201220132014% change
 2013-2014
     
All passengers23,813,09024,775,73526,486,1316.9
     

Increase of 6.9% in number of passengers handled by Irish airports in 2014

Figure 1: All passenger numbers handled by all Irish airports
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In 2014, almost 26.5 million passengers passed through Irish airports, an increase of 6.9% over the previous year. This compares to 31.5 million passengers in 2007, when the numbers handled by Irish airports reached a peak. See Table 3.

Passenger numbers increased in Dublin, Donegal, Knock, Shannon, and Waterford while passenger numbers fell in all other airports. Dublin airport accounted for 81.9% of all passengers. See Table 1.

The number of departing passengers marginally exceeded those arriving for the main airports in 2014. In total, there were 13.18 million arrivals and 13.21 million departures for the main airports. See Tables 2 and 6.

The results also show that:

  • More than 217,000 flights were handled by Ireland's five main airports in 2014. Dublin accounted for almost 80% of all flights (172,556) while Cork handled 9% of all flights (19,579). See Tables 7, 8 and 9.
  • London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick and London-Stansted were the most popular routes for passengers in Dublin airport in 2014. For Cork, the key routes were London-Heathrow, London-Stansted and Amsterdam. In Shannon, the main routes were London-Heathrow, London-Stansted and New York–John F Kennedy while London-Stansted, London-Luton and Liverpool-John Lennon were the most popular routes to and from Knock. See Tables 10A to 10E.
  • In 2014, more than eight out of every ten passengers (84.0%) on international flights in the five main airports were travelling to or from Europe and 9.5% were travelling to or from North America. The three most popular countries of origin/destination were the United Kingdom, United States of America and Spain, together accounting for 57% of all passengers. See Table 11.
  • Ireland's main airports handled a total of 139.0 thousand tonnes of freight in 2014. International freight accounted for 92.5% of the total. See Table 12.
Passenger number distribution by airport, 2007
Dublin74
Cork10.1
Shannon11.2
Knock1.7
Kerry1.2
Other1.8
Passenger number distribution by airport, 2014
Dublin81.9
Cork8.1
Shannon5.9
Knock2.7
Kerry1.1
Other0.4
Table 1: Total passenger numbers handled by all airports, 2012 - 2014
     
Airport201220132014% change 2013-2014
     
Dublin19,090,78120,148,57421,694,8937.7
Cork2,333,6432,252,6362,138,057-5.1
Shannon1,286,1391,308,2421,555,22518.9
Knock677,368665,558703,6705.7
Kerry286,442306,042294,955-3.6
Donegal29,22633,76835,4154.9
Waterford77,87528,16833,18917.8
Connemara19,49020,35419,236-5.5 
Inishmore12,12612,39311,491-7.3
    
Total23,813,09024,775,73526,486,1316.9
     
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 1 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 2: Passenger numbers classified by arrivals and departures handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
Passenger typeCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Arrivals1,065,56810,843,631145,442349,181775,44913,179,271
       
Departures1,072,48910,851,262149,513354,489779,77613,207,529
       
All passengers2,138,05721,694,893294,955703,6701,555,22526,386,800
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 2 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 3: Total passenger numbers handled by all airports, 2007 - 2014
        Number
Airport20072008200920102011201220132014
         
Connemara22,33819,44218,86919,61217,96619,49020,35419,236
Cork3,183,1463,259,1092,767,7762,422,8722,356,6292,333,6432,252,6362,138,057
Donegal61,41065,53950,76146,82538,30929,22633,76835,415
Dublin23,307,33323,507,20520,507,44618,426,82318,749,07819,090,78120,148,57421,694,893
Galway1309,320266,473195,804154,81467,002---
Inishmore12,03910,6289,87211,65010,62912,12612,39311,491
Kerry391,138426,115356,738383,866310,937286,442306,042294,955
Knock544,042630,806606,464586,393653,637677,368665,558703,670
Shannon3,524,4502,956,3272,579,6761,531,3091,364,8311,286,1391,308,2421,555,225
Sligo144,53342,49326,70621,0777,111---
Waterford116,392144,253110,826103,98681,57577,87528,16833,189
         
Total31,516,14131,328,39027,230,93823,709,22723,657,70423,813,09024,775,73526,486,131
         
1 Galway and Sligo ceased commercial flights during 2011
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 3 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 4: Passenger numbers by month handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
MonthCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
 
January129,4851,275,19913,73328,64360,3941,507,454
February126,3591,258,17314,58834,15863,4831,496,761
March144,9411,529,32617,63537,31571,0091,800,226
April182,9211,824,88726,16660,811129,4942,224,279
May195,7371,978,05229,11364,953150,5252,418,380
June232,3382,111,88729,11574,569188,1672,636,076
July248,9242,303,83733,19492,977200,7392,879,671
August243,2862,286,66234,565102,621201,1082,868,242
September193,3282,026,73929,20463,818158,0822,471,171
October182,5101,960,19428,80663,183136,6742,371,367
November131,9561,576,47018,99040,790100,4291,868,635
December126,2721,563,46719,84639,83295,1211,844,538
     
Total2,138,05721,694,893294,955703,6701,555,22526,386,800
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 4 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 5: Passenger numbers classified by national and international traffic handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
TrafficCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
National traffic53867,40137,31602,649107,904
      
International traffic2,137,51921,627,492257,639703,6701,552,57626,278,896
       
Total traffic2,138,05721,694,893294,955703,6701,555,22526,386,800
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 5 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 6: Passenger numbers classified by arrivals and departures by month handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
MonthCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
All passengers      
January129,4851,275,19913,73328,64360,3941,507,454
February126,3591,258,17314,58834,15863,4831,496,761
March144,9411,529,32617,63537,31571,0091,800,226
April182,9211,824,88726,16660,811129,4942,224,279
May195,7371,978,05229,11364,953150,5252,418,380
June232,3382,111,88729,11574,569188,1672,636,076
July248,9242,303,83733,19492,977200,7392,879,671
August243,2862,286,66234,565102,621201,1082,868,242
September193,3282,026,73929,20463,818158,0822,471,171
October182,5101,960,19428,80663,183136,6742,371,367
November131,9561,576,47018,99040,790100,4291,868,635
December126,2721,563,46719,84639,83295,1211,844,538
      
Total passengers2,138,05721,694,893294,955703,6701,555,22526,386,800
      
Arrivals 
January61,552632,7235,84612,68627,950740,757
February62,798632,3807,20716,91032,388751,683
March72,391771,1388,70618,34135,861906,437
April90,748910,52212,98929,99364,4731,108,725
May95,364974,70614,48732,12474,8741,191,555
June110,9541,019,76513,91335,62791,6591,271,918
July128,2041,161,21817,04746,802101,4041,454,675
August123,7561,167,41817,40852,424101,6631,462,669
September95,4921,016,77913,52130,78077,7541,234,326
October92,186982,54714,28232,13567,5361,188,686
November66,201794,0189,23119,86250,151939,463
December65,922780,41710,80521,49749,736928,377
      
Total arrivals1,065,56810,843,631145,442349,181775,44913,179,271
      
Departures 
January67,933642,4767,88715,95732,444766,697
February63,561625,7937,38117,24831,095745,078
March72,550758,1888,92918,97435,148893,789
April92,173914,36513,17730,81865,0211,115,554
May100,3731,003,34614,62632,82975,6511,226,825
June121,3841,092,12215,20238,94296,5081,364,158
July120,7201,142,61916,14746,17599,3351,424,996
August119,5301,119,24417,15750,19799,4451,405,573
September97,8361,009,96015,68333,03880,3281,236,845
October90,324977,64714,52431,04869,1381,182,681
November65,755782,4529,75920,92850,278929,172
December60,350783,0509,04118,33545,385916,161
      
Total departures1,072,48910,851,262149,513354,489779,77613,207,529
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 6 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 7: Number of flights classified by national and international traffic handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
TrafficCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
National traffic1703,4821,42809706,050
       
International traffic19,409169,0741,7856,17214,635211,075
       
Total traffic19,579172,5563,2136,17215,605217,125
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 7 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 8: Number of flights classified by arrivals and departures handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
FlightsCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Arrivals9,87186,3911,6023,0947,811108,769
       
Departures9,70886,1651,6113,0787,794108,356
       
All flights19,579172,5563,2136,17215,605217,125
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 8 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 9: Number of flights classified by scheduled and non-scheduled travel handled by main airports, 2014
      Number
FlightsCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Scheduled flights19,109169,7153,1965,93315,022212,975
       
Non-scheduled flights4702,841172395834,150
       
All flights19,579172,5563,2136,17215,605217,125
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 9 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10A: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Dublin airport by number of passengers, 2014
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
   
London - Heathrow805,317846,4731,651,790
London - Gatwick506,320487,448993,768
London - Stansted412,089397,040809,129
Manchester379,077380,256759,333
Paris - Charles De Gaulle333,287332,921666,208
Birmingham333,522331,509665,031
New York - John F Kennedy299,501301,935601,436
Amsterdam Schiphol 256,677259,063515,740
Frankfurt252,158254,772506,930
Edinburgh241,518237,122478,640
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 10A (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10B: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Cork airport by number of passengers, 2014
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
   
London - Heathrow194,709202,841397,550
London - Stansted130,710125,217255,927
Amsterdam Schiphol 83,45685,697169,153
London - Gatwick59,94859,556119,504
Malaga50,99650,630101,626
Lanzarote47,01546,88393,898
Paris - Charles De Gaulle45,08945,05490,143
Faro43,59443,62787,221
Manchester42,37643,54285,918
Liverppol - John Lennon40,29239,55079,842
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 10B (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10C: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Shannon airport by number of passengers, 2014
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
 
London - Heathrow113,109123,062236,171
London - Stansted104,33997,887202,226
New York - John F Kennedy60,46559,778120,243
London - Gatwick52,27051,386103,656
Newark49,45151,803101,254
Boston - Logan46,65445,85192,505
Manchester33,86334,33668,199
Faro24,18323,87348,056
Malaga22,05621,93143,987
Birmingham21,34521,26342,608
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 10C (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10D: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Knock airport by number of passengers, 2014
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
 
London - Stansted69,09074,461143,551
London - Luton61,35760,971122,328
Liverpool - John Lennon42,32243,51685,838
London - Gatwick34,98036,09371,073
East Midlands27,26128,04455,305
Faro14,99715,55030,547
Birmingham14,21813,32727,545
Manchester13,62513,62527,250
Bristol10,64610,62221,268
Lanzarote9,73210,11619,848
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 10D (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10E: Top 5 arrivals and departures for Kerry airport by number of passengers, 2014
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
 
London - Luton49,94552,598102,543
London - Stansted34,71433,98468,698
Frankfurt - Hahn25,09424,99150,085
Dublin18,09419,22237,316
Faro9,2619,42718,688
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 10E (XLS 11KB)
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Table 11: Number of passengers classified by country of flight stage origin and destination handled by main airports, 2014
    Number
ContinentCountryArrivalsDeparturesTotal
     
EuropeAustria59,52659,579119,105
 Belgium209,873207,925417,798
 Czech Republic75,27076,760152,030
 Denmark137,691133,178270,869
 France863,416861,1381,724,554
 Germany825,327824,9001,650,227
 Hungary91,49588,167179,662
 Italy517,429509,6611,027,090
 Latvia57,07558,330115,405
 Lithuania88,75389,688178,441
 Netherlands411,224416,545827,769
 Norway69,65871,732141,390
 Poland443,583440,583884,166
 Portugal380,159378,045758,204
 Spain1,122,0301,112,0502,234,080
 Sweden52,33053,700106,030
 Switzerland152,565153,050305,615
 UK - England4,656,8664,690,0589,346,924
 UK - Northern Ireland1,3791161,495
 UK - Scotland473,382475,279948,661
 UK - Wales35,11435,76970,883
 UK - Other25,86225,80751,669
 Total UK5,192,6035,227,02910,419,632
 Other 278,579273,360551,939
 Total Europe11,028,58611,035,42022,064,006
North AmericaCanada121,342124,064245,406
USA1,124,0891,135,9462,260,035
Other562319881
Total North America1,245,9931,260,3292,506,322
  
AfricaCanary Islands419,935420,232840,167
Other19,29319,56038,853
Total Africa439,228439,792879,020
 
AsiaTurkey111,284113,296224,580
United Arab Emirates295,640294,839590,479
Other10189199
Total Asia406,934408,324815,258
Other1Total other6,6287,66214,290
   
All continents13,127,36913,151,52726,278,896
     
1 Due to residual coding errors some passengers cannot be assigned a country of flight origin/destination
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 11 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 12: Air freight classified by national & international traffic and arrivals & departures handled by main airports, 2014
     Tonnes
TrafficCorkDublinKnockShannonTotal
      
National freight traffic465,05505,37110,472
      
International freight traffic615122,393175,515128,541
      
Arrivals - freight38168,250175,45674,104
      
Departures - freight28059,19805,43064,908
      
All freight661127,4481710,886139,013
      
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2014 Table 12 (XLS 11KB)
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Background Notes

Introduction      

Statistics on Aviation are collected under Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 91 of 2014 - Statistics (carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air) Order 2013.

The data in this release gives details on the number of passengers, the number of flights classified by arrivals and departures, and by reference to national and international traffic; and covers both scheduled and non-scheduled flights. It also provides information on air freight and mail (in tonnes).  The release also highlights the top routes for each of the five main airports: Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry.

Data sources

Aviation statistics are compiled from data supplied by all Irish airports. The following Irish airports provide data to the Central Statistics Office: Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Kerry, Knock, Waterford, Connemara, Donegal and Inishmore. Galway and Sligo airports ceased operations in 2011. Data for the five main airports is supplied on a monthly basis. Data for regional airports is supplied annually to the Central Statistics Office.

History

Until 2014, aviation statistics were published in the Transport Omnibus publication and on the CSO Statbank. This is the second time the data is being published as a separate e-release.  Further details will be provided in the Transport Omnibus which is published in the final quarter of each year.

Definitions

Main airport: A main airport is defined as an airport through which in excess of 150,000 passengers fly per annum. The five main airports in Ireland are Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry.

Regional airport: A regional airport is defined as an airport through which less than 150,000 passengers fly per annum. The four regional airports in Ireland are Donegal, Waterford, Connemara and Inishmore.  

Scheduled flight: The term 'scheduled' in this release, refers to a commercial air service operated according to a published timetable, or with such a regular frequency that it constitutes an easily recognisable systematic series of flights.

Non-scheduled flight: The term 'non-scheduled' in this release, refers to a commercial air service other than scheduled air service e.g. chartered or private aircraft flights.

Direct transit passengers: These are passengers who, following a short stop, continue their journey on the same aircraft with the same flight number as the flight on which they arrived. These passengers are en route to another destination and generally do not disembark from their aircraft.

Transfer passengers: Transfer passengers or ‘connecting passengers’ are defined as passengers who make a stop at an airport without any purpose other than to board another aircraft to reach another destination. Unlike transit passengers, transfer passengers disembark the aircraft and pass through the airport en route to their connecting flight.

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