Daa revenues jump 10% as passenger numbers surge

Passenger traffic rose 11% in Cork and 5% in Dublin — but the impact of the passenger cap will be reflected in the second half of the year

Domestic non-aeronautical revenue grew by 12% to €232.3m, driven by strong food and beverage sales, retail sales, and other passenger-related services. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Revenues at the Cork Airport and Dublin Airport operator, Daa, jumped 10% in the first half of the year to €504.3m.

However, the company has warned that the passenger cap at Dublin Airport will impact results for the remainder of the year.

Interim results show that a total of 17.9m passengers passed through the two State airports, a 5% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Dublin Airport saw a 5% rise in passenger traffic, while Cork Airport experienced 11% growth.

The Daa said the growth was driven by a 15% increase in domestic revenue, which totalled €389.3m.

Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased by 33% to €162.2m, while profit after tax before exceptional items rose to €82.1m.

Profits before tax from the group’s international operations, through Aer Rianta International, increased from €10.5m to €14.2m.

Aeronautical revenue increased by 21% to €157.1m, while domestic non-aeronautical revenue grew by 12% to €232.3m — driven by strong food and beverage sales, retail sales, and other passenger-related services.

The CEO of Daa, Kenny Jacobs, said that they were pleased with the financial and operational performance in the first half of 2024.

“The continued growth in passenger numbers and revenue reflects the robust demand from both passengers and airlines alike to grow their business at our airports." He added:  

There are strong headwinds ahead as a result of ongoing planning issues and the 32m-passenger cap at Dublin Airport, which will be reflected in our performance for the second half of this year and in to 2025.

“While we continue to encourage and incentivise our airline partners to grow at Cork, our ability to grow to match demand for international travel by a growing Irish population is currently curtailed at Dublin given the 2007 passenger cap.

“Less seats this winter and next summer is going to result in higher air fares and less choice for the travelling public, unfortunately, until the cap gets resolved by planning permission being granted,” Mr Jacobs said.

“We hope planning can move faster. We submitted our 40m-passenger application almost one year ago, and we expect it could take a further two years before this is approved. We are also working on a comprehensive ‘no build’ operational application to remove the cap in the coming months that we hope can move through the planning process faster.”