Cork and Dublin Airports enjoy summer boost with record figures for June

Cork Airport welcomed 355,000 people in June, up more than 15% compared to the same month in 2024

Push back of an Aer Lingus aircraft from the stand area at Cork Airport. Picture Larry Cummins

The summer months have kicked off with a record number of passengers passing through both Cork and Dublin Airport.

New figures released by the DAA on Friday show Cork Airport welcomed 355,000 people last month, up more than 15% compared to the same period in 2024 and marking its busiest June in its 63-year history. 

Dublin Airport also recorded its busiest June ever, with a total of 3.54m passengers. This included 12 days with 120k or more passengers.

The last week of June also broke records as the new ‘busiest ever’ week for both Cork and Dublin airports, surpassing all previous weekly records. Cork welcomed 85,000 passengers while Dublin saw 858,000.

June also marked the completion of the first half of the year, with a total of 1.65m passengers passing through Cork Airport and 16.96m through Dublin.

However, the DAA said Dublin Airport’s surging passenger numbers highlight the urgency of the government confirming its proposed solution to the cap issue as soon as possible. 

Dublin Airport is on track to exceed 36m passengers this year and has no means of reducing this as it does not control the slot process. Meanwhile, the local planning authority last month issued the DAA with an enforcement notice ordering it to comply with a 32 million passengers a year limit, as it sees “no compelling reasons for not taking enforcement action”.

Welcoming the record month for Cork, chief executive of the DAA Kenny Jacobs said: "Popular summer routes to La Rochelle, Zadar and Carcassonne resumed in early June – all fantastic destinations for summer holidays. And SunExpress announced a new service to Antalya for summer 2026.

However, Mr Jacobs added: “Any other airport in Europe would be delighted to break previous passenger records, knowing the huge economic contribution that comes from welcoming 3.54m visitors to our shores. 

"But for Dublin it’s bittersweet: the outdated cap remains a millstone weighing down every airline considering keeping or starting new routes, which has ripple effects for any business investing in Ireland as well as our homegrown industries, particularly tourism.

The artificial cap on numbers at Dublin Airport’s terminals is an own goal that needs to be removed.

“There is one inescapable fact here: we are an island. Connectivity is not a nice to have, it’s a prerequisite for our prosperity, critical to our diaspora, and intrinsic to our international reputation.