Media Centre

Record Growth in 2005 as Dublin Airport 

Official end of year figures released by Dublin Airport, today 16th January, show that more than 18.4 million passengers travelled through the airport last year, an 8% increase over 2004.  A total of 1.3 million extra passengers travelled through the airport in 2005.

The main contributors to the growth in traffic were the Airport’s European and North Atlantic routes.  European traffic grew by an impressive 18% with more than 8.1 million passengers travelling in 2005.  This growth was delivered through a combination of new European routes and larger aircraft operating on existing services.

Significant growth was also achieved on North American routes in 2005 with passenger numbers increasing by 14%.   In all, more than 1.2 million passengers travelled on the many transatlantic services to and from Dublin Airport.

Traffic to and from the UK declined by 1% with just over 8.2 million passengers travelling in 2005.  This slight decline can be attributed to a combination of a reduction in capacity at Dublin Airport and a fall off in connecting traffic as a result of a growing direct network to the UK from other Irish airports.  Domestic traffic fell by 5% to 650,000 passengers. 

Last year was another exceptionally busy year for Dublin Airport with the launch of an additional 31 new routes/services.   The airport now has a record 50 scheduled airlines operating to 112 destinations internationally and there is more to come.  More than 30 new services are planned in the first quarter of 2006, half of which will represent new routes for the Airport.

Commenting on last year’s performance, Director of Dublin Airport, Robert Hilliard said “This is the 14th consecutive year of growth in passenger numbers at Dublin Airport and I am confident that this trend will continue in 2006. Our traffic forecasts indicate a very strong possibility that the Airport will break the key 20 million passenger threshold  for the first time,  later this year.

The sustained growth reflects not only the attraction of Ireland as a business and leisure destination, but also the service and value offered by Dublin Airport and its customer airlines” concluded Mr. Hilliard.

 Ends
16th January, 2006

 Further information contact: Siobhán Moore - 087.2710065

Siobhán Moore,
External Communications Manager,
Dublin Airport Authority
Tel: 00.353.1.814 4108
Mobile: 00.353.87.2710065