Irish Examiner view: A year later, Wuhan is rejuvenated

Covid has decimated numbers at Cork Aiport, which has gone from over 50 routes to two. But Wuhan, the city where Covid-19 was first identified should be an example of how rapid recovery is possible

Two passengers at a very empty Cork Airport last summer. File picture: Jim Coughlan

Figures just published by Cork Airport tell the story of how the pandemic has hit air travel, one of the worst affected business sectors of all, in the most spectacular way. 

Passenger numbers fell by around 2m, 80% of a normal year’s throughput. Only 530,000 people used the airport last year and the majority of those — 398,000 — did so in the first quarter.