Over 4.7 million passengers passed through the State’s five main airports in the first three months of 2022, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The figure was 11 times that of the same period last year, however, remained 21 percent below the first three months of 2020, prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Almost 4.3 million more passengers used Irish airports in the first three months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.
The number of flights to and from Irish airports in the first quarter of 2022 increased by more than 32,000 compared to the same period in 2021.
Slightly more than 41,000 flights were handled by Ireland’s five main airports in the first quarter of 2022, with Dublin handling 85% of all flights (35,120), while Cork handled 7% of all flights (2,683).
London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, and Amsterdam-Schiphol were the most popular routes for passengers travelling through Dublin airport in the first quarter of 2022. The top route for Cork, Shannon, and Knock airports was London-Stansted, while the top route for Kerry was London-Luton.
The number of passengers arriving to or departing from Ireland in March rose by 76% compared with March 2020 but is still 25% lower than the same month in 2019. Air freight handled by Irish airports in the first quarter of 2022 was slightly down by 2% compared to the same period in 2021.