With commercial air travel continuing to forge a path of recovery, February 2023 was another busy month at some of Ireland's busiest airports. Indeed, Dublin (DUB) and Cork (ORK) saw their passenger numbers for the month exceed those experienced before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, partially thanks to holiday traffic.

The key figures

Serving the capital city, it comes as no surprise that Dublin Airport is the busiest in Ireland. However, while its present traffic figures are impressive compared to the country's other airports, they also exceed those seen at the facility before the global health crisis. Indeed, last month, 2.06 million passengers used Dublin Airport.

2019 is typically used as the yardstick for such comparisons, and this figure was 3% higher than that year. However, Dublin Airport's busiest-ever February came right before COVID-19 hit in February 2020. Impressively, the 2.06 million passengers carried last month also exceeded these levels, meaning that 2023 has seen Dublin Airport record its busiest-ever February in terms of passenger numbers.

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Dublin Airport Passengers In Terminal
Photo: DAA

Historically speaking, Cork Airport has generally been Ireland's second-busiest, although the impacts of coronavirus saw it drop to third place behind Shannon Airport (SNN). That being said, it is now bouncing back strongly, and with 157,000 passengers handled last month, its figures for February were 4% higher than in 2019. Compared to 2022, Dublin and Cork were up 55% and 63%, respectively.

Returning leisure traffic was a key contributor

While January typically represents a quiet start to the year for airlines and airports, February often sees increased holiday traffic and, thus, higher passenger numbers. This was certainly the case at Ireland's busiest airports, as Kenny Jacobs, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), explains:

"The addition of an extra Bank Holiday weekend in February, combined with Valentine's Day and the mid-term school break, meant February was another very busy month at both Dublin and Cork airports. Passenger numbers at both airports were boosted by the Six Nations rugby, which saw thousands of French fans traveling to watch their match against Ireland, while many thousands of Irish fans headed to the games in Wales and Italy."

Dublin Airport Aer Lingus Jetbridges
Photo: DAA

Dublin and Cork saw their busiest days on February 19th and 12th, respectively. Despite the high numbers seen then and throughout the month, security waiting times largely remained low. The DAA notes that "96% of passengers [passed] through in less than 20 minutes, and virtually all through in under 30 minutes."

Another busy month in store

The DAA also expects March 2023 to be a busy month at Ireland's busiest airports. Much like how Valentine's Day catalyzed traffic growth in February, this month will see increased holiday traffic around St Patrick's Day (March 17th).

Additionally, traveling rugby union fans will also contribute to another healthy performance this month, with March seeing the final two fixtures of Ireland's Six Nations campaign. The side will travel to Edinburgh (served by Ryanair from Dublin and Cork and Aer Lingus from Dublin) to face Scotland at Murrayfield on March 12th before welcoming England to Dublin's Aviva Stadium on March 18th.

What do you make of the performance of Dublin and Cork's airports in February 2023? Did you use either facility last month? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!