A total of 3.46 million passengers travelled through the terminal doors of Dublin Airport in August, making it the busiest month ever in its 84-year history.
The week of August 12 saw 829,000 passengers, while Sunday, August 18 was the busiest day ever, with 124,600 passengers passing through the airport,
Between May and August, over 10 million passengers passed through the doors of Dublin Airport.
This brings the total number to 22.7 million passengers so far in 2024.
As of the end of August, terminals passenger numbers are trending 5.5pc ahead of 2023, and this trend is forecast to continue into September.
However, a dampening of passenger numbers is expected from late autumn as a result of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) winter slot decision, the daa has said.
This reduces the number of seats airlines flying into Dublin Airport can offer to passengers between November and March.
“Some airlines operating at Dublin have also decided to reduce the scale of their operations because of the uncertainty with the 32 million terminals passenger cap,” the operator said.
It said it has made “extensive efforts” to reduce passenger numbers to comply with planning including the removal of airline incentives at Dublin Airport, and the launch by Cork Airport of a new scheme to encourage airlines to move seat capacity from Dublin to Cork.
Cork Airport welcomed a record 340,705 passengers in August, which represented a 10pc increase on the previous year.
Recent CSO statistics also show Cork Airport is the fastest growing of the three state airports in the first seven months of 2024, achieving a growth rate of 11pc so far.
Commenting, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Overall, I’m optimistic about the future except for one thing: the fact that growth at Dublin Airport is now being stalled by an outdated passenger cap, a very lengthy planning process and a lack of joined-up thinking on critical infrastructure in Ireland.”
He said that this leaves Dublin Airport “caught between a rock and a hard place”.
Mr Jacob said daa want to grow so it can continue to connect Ireland with the world and support FDI, tourism and jobs.
“But while we wait for planning to be granted, we are doing everything we can to comply with existing planning conditions,” he said.
The operator has applied to Fingal County Council (FCC) to increase the current terminals passenger cap of 32 million passengers a year to 40 million as part of a broader Infrastructure Application (IA).
It includes permission for a range of significant sustainable investments to facilitate the projected growth of passengers through Dublin Airport.
“While our actions to dampen airline demand have reduced passenger numbers by approximately 650,000, we do not control the slot process. We now forecast that passenger numbers will exceed 32 million and will be closer to 33 million in 2024,” Mr Jacobs said.
He stressed that “it is in no one’s interests” to curtail tourism and investment at a time when “so much public and private money is being spent to do the complete opposite”.
“We are a small, open, island economy on the edge of Europe that has always punched above our weight but we need more joined-up thinking in the development of critical infrastructure,” he said.
“It’s time to all come together to realise an ambitious vision of Ireland that sets us up for the future. This includes support for growth at Dublin Airport, so we can keep delivering for Ireland, and growth at Ireland’s great regional airports at Cork, Shannon, Knock, Kerry and Donegal.”
