The passenger cap continued to restrict Dublin Airport in February, according to a statement released by the airport operator DAA on Wednesday.
Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were down by 0.5 per cent in February 2025 when compared to same month in 2024, with just under 2.1 million passengers.
Kenny Jacobs, chief executive of DAA, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports, said that the opening months of 2025 “starkly highlighted the impact of having an out-of-date passenger cap on Ireland's main gateway.
“Figures from the Central Statistics Office show a very worrying 25 per cent drop in the number of tourists that visited Ireland in January,” he said.
Operationally, however, Dublin Airport had a strong February, Mr Kenny added.
“Security screening moved really well with 98% of passengers through in under 20 minutes and 89% of first-wave departures leaving on time. However, it was the third month running of flat or declining passenger numbers year-on-year, despite strong demand from both passengers and airlines to fly in and out of Dublin.
“Passengers and airlines are looking enviously across the Irish Sea, where the UK government is actively supporting the expansion of all London Airports, with a focus on accelerating their planning system to build for the UK’s future.
Mr Jacobs said that daa welcomed the comments by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister Darragh O’Brien that the government will ‘do everything it can’ to lift the passenger cap.
“We need the passenger cap removed in the next six months, and we need turbocharged planning that gives faster decisions and allows daa to add new terminal capacity,” he said.
“If we remain stuck in the existing planning process and timelines, then it will take years. We believe that every solution should be on the table as we look to unblock this impasse to protect connectivity, tourism and jobs.
“We have shared some new solutions with the Minister, including following the UK model where central Government has taken control of planning decisions on critical transport infrastructure to deliver faster decisions.
“Whether it's the Taoiseach, the general public, airlines or the business community, it is widely accepted that the passenger cap needs to go,” Mr Jacobs said.
The statement from daa said that it continues to do “all it can to remove the passenger cap.
“In early February, daa resubmitted its ‘no build’ Operational Application (OA) to Fingal County Council to increase passenger numbers at Dublin Airport to 36 million a year.
“daa hopes the OA can now move swiftly through the planning process to provide a short-term solution to the terminals cap impasse impacting Ireland’s connectivity, tourism and economy,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Cork Airport continued to grow strongly, welcoming a total of 203,466 passengers in February, marking an increase of 6 per cent compared to February 2024.
Both airports were busy in February with inbound and outbound sports fans travelling to Six Nations rugby matches, people taking advantage of the school midterm break, Valentine’s Day and the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend for short breaks.
Mr Jacobs said that the busiest day of the month at Cork Airport, February 21st, coincided with the last day of the midterm break.
“The increased number of passengers travelling during mid-term resulted in very healthy load factors and performance on services to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Seville and Paris, while popular sun destinations also recorded a significant boost – particularly Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote and Tenerife,” Mr Jacobs said.
Cork Airport announced a new integrated ticketing initiative with Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann in February, meaning that passengers travelling from Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Laois can purchase one ticket that includes a rail journey followed by a bus transfer from Kent Station in Cork to the airport.
“Cork Airport needs more public transport services, and the team are working closely with the National Transport Authority (NTA) on that front,” Mr Jacobs said.
