Dublin Airport passenger figures up 15%

Almost 10 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport during the first six months of the year, a 15% increase over the same period last year according to figures released by the Dublin Airport Authority.

This increase in passenger volumes represents an additional 1.3 million passengers travelling through the airport in just six months.

European traffic recorded the strongest growth during this period, rising by 25% to more than 4.4 million passengers. The increase was supported by the launch of over 30 new routes and services into mainland Europe since the beginning of the year.

The transatlantic market recorded a 7% increase for the first six months of the year with more than 586,000 passengers travelling to and from North America.

Passenger volumes to and from the UK grew by 6% to more than 4.2 million passengers while domestic traffic recorded more than 380,000 passengers, a 23% increase over the same period last year.

In all, 38 new routes/services were launched since the beginning of the year.

Commenting on the latest traffic figures, Director of Dublin Airport Robert Hilliard said: "During the first six months of the year Dublin Airport has already exceeded the total additional growth in passenger traffic for 2005 and our traffic forecasts indicate that end of year passenger figures will surpass 21 million."