Latest CSO aviation figures increase in passenger numbers for Irish Airports

Latest CSO aviation figures increase in passenger numbers for Irish Airports Latest CSO aviation figures increase in passenger numbers for Irish Airports IMAGE SOURCE: PIXABAYCork, Dublin, Kerry and Knock airports all saw increases in passenger numbers in Q2 2020 according to a new report from the Central Statistics Office.The smaller regional airports have all seen an increase with passenger numbers at Ireland West Knock Airport up 4.1% to almost 209,000, while Kerry Airport enjoyed an 8.2% gain to 98,536.The report has identified that almost 9.4 million passengers passed through Ireland’s main airports in the second quarter of 2020. These figures mark a 6.2% increase on the same period in 2016.9.4 million passengers passed through Ireland’s main airports in the second quarter of 2020The CSO report into Ireland’s aviation statistics also highlighted the fact the Dublin Airport accounts for 85% of all air passengers carried during that period.In terms of overall passenger numbers for the first half of 2020 over 16 million passengers have travelled through Ireland’s main airports, an increase of 5.3% when compared to the same p eriod in 2016. The London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick and Amsterdam-Schiphol route have proved to be the most popular for passengers travelling from Dublin airport.For Cork airport, the top three routes were London-Heathrow, London-Stansted and Amsterdam-Schiphol with the London-Heathrow flight identified as the top route for Shannon Airport.A total of almost 68,000 flights were handled by Irelands main airports in the second quarter of 2020 with Dublin accounting for 83.1% of all flights (56,488), while Cork handled 7.8% of all flights (5,308). The latest CSO report comes on the back of a recent Travel and Tourism estimate for the first half of 2020 which showed that revenue from overseas trips to Ireland for the period January â€" June 2020 was 11.7% higher than the corresponding period in 2016. These strong returns for this period meant that revenue for the first half of the year was 7.1% ahead of 2016.Responding to the announcement, Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said:“We are ver y pleased to see overall growth in arrivals is up 4%, with very strong growth in North America (+22%) and other long-haul market (+21%). This, together with overall revenue growth (excluding fares) of 7%, reflects a strong performance so far.“While we welcome the strong growth, Britain continues to be a challenge. With overall British figures down 6% (and particularly with British holidaymakers down 9%), we cannot just assume that the drop in British holidaymakers will continue to be compensated by better performances in other markets.