Commercial traffic down 68% at Cork Airport

Commercial air traffic at State airports was down 65.1% this August in comparison to the same month last year.

Cork Airport traffic saw 732 commercial movements this August, in comparison to 2,286 in August 2019.

Figures released today by The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) show commercial air traffic in Cork airport last month was down 68% in comparison to the same period last year.

Cork Airport traffic saw 732 commercial movements this August, in comparison to 2,286 in August 2019.

Similar figures were recorded in other airports. Dublin Airport recorded 7,786 flights, a decrease of 65.2%, while Shannon Airport reported 725 flights, a 60.7% decrease in movements.

Overall, commercial traffic at State airports was down by 65.1% in August 2020 compared to August 2019. However, for all airports, the declines in commercial movements are significantly less than what they recorded in April, May, June and July.

Transatlantic traffic was down 68.9% in August 2020 when compared to the same month in 2019 while En-Route traffic (flights which do not land in Ireland) was down 66.6% in comparison to August 2019.

The latest IAA figures arrive as the government comes under increasing pressure to lift coronavirus air travel restrictions in a bid to tackle the current crisis facing Ireland's airports. 

Chambers representing businesses that support over 100,000 jobs across the Mid-West and West have called for government supports to help Shannon Airport during the on-going coronavirus crisis.

Galway, Ennis, Limerick and Shannon chambers have proposed a number of measures to deal with the current crisis and establish a new national aviation model.