Airports see 4% fall in commercial traffic

Commercial traffic at the three main Irish airports has fallen by almost 4% in the first three months of the year, despite a recent increase in tourist numbers to Ireland.

The Irish Aviation Authority said the 3.8% decrease in the number of aircraft using Dublin, Cork and Shannon between January and March was disappointing.

Cork Airport has recorded the biggest decrease of the three state airports, with an 8.4% decline in commercial traffic since the start of the year. The number of aircraft movements in the first three months of 2012 in Cork was 4,502 — down from 4,913 in the corresponding period last year.