Cork and Shannon airport passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels

For Cork Airport, the number of passengers in June 2023 was 13% higher than June 2022 figures, with no change recorded when compared with the same month in 2019. Picture: Larry Cummins

Ireland’s two major regional airports are now consistently at least equalling or exceeding their passenger numbers before the covid-19 pandemic, official data show.

The growing numbers come as the European heatwave ignites questions about how the climate crisis and growth in aviation can be reconciled worldwide.