While not as bad as in 2020, air travel in 2021 continued to be heavily impacted by travel restrictions brought about to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. In 2021 airports in Ireland handled 9.1 million passengers, an increase of 10% compared to 2020 but still down by 76% compared to the 38,053,418 passengers that passed through Irish airports in 2019.

Based on statistics provided by the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) we can see that historically, by passenger numbers, Dublin Airport (DUB) is the busiest of the three major airports in the Republic of Ireland. Cork Airport (ORK) is the second-busiest, with Shannon Airport (SNN) in County Clare being the third busiest.

Shannon Airport used to be much busier than it is today

Interestingly, Shannon Airport was once the country's main international gateway and served as a refueling spot for transatlantic flights. These days, however, Dublin Airport is the preferred choice for international travelers, despite Shannon also having United States preclearance facilities. Thanks to many Americans who visit the Emerald Isle, Dublin and Shannon are two of 15 USA preclearance facilities worldwide. Fourth in passenger numbers is Ireland West Airport (NOC) in County Mayo, followed closely by Kerry Airport (KIR) in County Kerry.

The number of flights was down 66% compared to 2019

In 2021 Irelands' main airports handled over 94,000 flights, a decline of 66% compared to 2019. Dublin Airport was the busiest of these, operating 82,514 flights for an 88% share of all flights arriving and departing the Republic of Ireland.

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Both Shannon and Dublin airports have USA preclearence. Photo: DerGraueWolf via Wikimedia Commons

While historically the second-busiest airport over the last decade, in 2021, Shannon Airport overtook Cork Airport in the number of arriving and departing flights with 4,836 for a 5% share of total flights arriving and departing Ireland. Cork Airport came in third with 3,303 flights, followed by Kerry Airport with 1,907 and Ireland West Airport commonly referred to as Knock Airport with 1,479 arrivals and departures.

London and Amsterdam were the busiest routes

The busiest routes in and out of Dublin Airport were to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) in the Netherlands. For Shannon Airport, the most popular route was to London Stansted Airport (STN), while the busiest routes from Cork Airport were to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and London Stansted Airport (STN). As for Kerry Airport and Knock Airport, London Luton Airport (LTN) was the preferred destination.

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Cork Airport is the second-busiest airport in Ireland. Photo: Jay Stiegler via Wikimedia Commons.

In 2021 nine out of every ten passengers traveling on international flights through Irish Airports were traveling to or from European destinations. The two most popular countries were the United Kingdom with 2,676,216 passengers and Spain with 1,340,737.

Outside of Europe, the United States of America was the most popular destination with 493,492 passengers, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with 118,284.

In 2021 Irish airports handled 160,855 tonnes of air freight, 91% of which was from international destinations. While passenger numbers were way down compared to 2019, the amount of air freight arriving in the Republic of Ireland saw an increase of 10% compared to two years earlier.

Dublin Airport saw the most significant air freight with 144,264 tonnes, while Shannon Airport handled 15,766, thanks partly to the Shannon Free Zone business park.