A busy Easter period ensured bumper passenger numbers at Dublin Airport in April, according to airport operator daa.
With the winter stay on flight slots having not been extended into the summer period and with Easter falling in April this year (as opposed to in March last year) saw passenger numbers grow materially at Dublin Airport for the first time since last autumn, increasing by 7.5% to 2.9 million following three consecutive months of no growth in the first three months of 2025.
The High Court has suspended any enforcement of the slots limit pending the outcome of a legal case that has been referred to Europe after a legal challenge by airlines, effectively preventing the cap from being considered by the regulator when assigning slots to airlines.
As well as Easter, numbers at both airports were buoyed in April by the addition of new routes, tourists coming to Ireland during the school holidays and strong business travel levels.
General commentary on April:
According to Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa: "April was a strong month at Dublin airport both in terms of passenger numbers and also operational performance. When it comes to growth, Cork Airport is a star performer amongst Irish regional airports and Dublin Airport would be too amongst its peer European airports if it wasn't for the uncertainty of the passenger cap. The positive passenger increases at both airports in April was due to strong numbers travelling over the Easter break, which fell much later this year versus 2024, and the addition of great new routes - including Cork-Bilbao and Dublin-Nashville. I want to thank the brilliant teams operating both airports who made April such a smooth month for our passengers.”
Commentary on Dublin Airport:
Kenny Jacobs said: "April was the first month of 2025 in which passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were not artificially constrained given there was a limit on the number of slots that airlines could access over the winter period due to the passenger cap. The 7.8% growth in April shows the high level of pent-up demand that's out there - both from passengers and airlines - to fly in and out of Dublin Airport."
“The passenger cap is holding Ireland back and making it an outlier amongst other European countries, with figures released this week by Airports Council International showing that passenger traffic in Ireland declined by -0.5% in Q1 2025, while airports in Europe combined saw passenger traffic increase by an average of 4%. This makes no sense when you consider that Ireland is an island nation with a fast-growing population which does - and always will - require good air connectivity. Add in the fact that we're speaking to airlines every week that want to bring new routes and additional frequencies to Dublin Airport and Ireland finds itself in a farcical situation that is leaving the rest of the world scratching its head."
