IAA reveals fall in North Atlantic air traffic

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has said that air traffic over Irish airspace declined by 1.4% in February when compared to February 2010.

The average daily number of flights in the North Atlantic in February was 1,269. These are flights which do not touch down in Ireland but instead fly through Irish airspace, en route between Europe and North America.

Flights at Dublin Airport were down by 0.5%, at Cork Airport they were down 12% while Shannon Airport saw 17.2% tumble in flights in February 2011, when compared to February 2010.

Eamonn Brennan, Chief Executive, IAA, said: "These figures are disappointing given the 9.4% increase which was registered just last month.

"However there is reason to be optimistic and the overall trend for 2011 is expected to show positive growth. Indeed, six of Ireland's top ten airport pairs showed positive growth in February when compared to the same period last year."