DAA is a State-owned commercial company, headquartered at Dublin Airport.
The company first began operations in 1937 and was originally known as Aer Rianta. In 2004, after almost 70 years in operation, the State Airports Act created the DAA plc.
The 2004 Act also established new airport authorities at Shannon and Cork Airports.
Aer Rianta's name was derived from the translation of "Air Ways" in Irish. The company's original remit was to "operate lines of aerial conveyances directly or by means of Aer Lingus" - the then national airline.
The first flight from Dublin Airport took off on January 19, 1940 with a scheduled service to Liverpool. On October 24, 1946, the first scheduled commercial flight flew into Shannon Airport, when an American Overseas Airlines (AOA) DC4 landed from the US. Cork Airport officially opened on October 16, 1961.
Aviation in general grew slowly in the years from the end of WW II to the late 1960s when the improving economy of Ireland began to see a significant growth in scheduled commercial services.
In 1968, Aer Rianta and Aer Lingus became separate companies and in 2006 Aer Lingus became a public company.
Each of the company's three airports experienced significant capital development in the 1970s which included the construction of new passenger terminal buildings and piers, the expansion of existing passengers facilities, and the provision of extensive car parking and cargo handling facilities.
The 1970s also saw Dublin Airport open a new 8,600-foot runway.
More recently, Shannon Airport opened a new terminal in 2000 while August 2006 saw Cork Airport's new terminal open for business.
Late 2010 saw the completion of a major €1.2 billion capital development programme at Dublin Airport which involved the upgrading of a wide range of key infrastructure at Ireland’s premier international gateway and included the construction of a new terminal, Terminal 2, at the airport.
Terminal 2 officially opened in November 2010 and is capable of handling up to 15 million passengers annually.
DAA’s international airport retail subsidiary, Aer Rianta International (ARI) is a global airport retailer, headquartered in Shannon, Ireland. It also manages the DAA's minority ownership in Dusseldorf airport.
On January 1, 2013, Shannon Airport separated from DAA. Today, DAA is the owner and operator of Dublin and Cork airports in addition to its global retailing arm ARI.
DAA is today focused on meeting the challenges of a changing marketplace.
To help achieve this, the company is committed to the creation of a performance based and commercially focused organisation that meets the demands of its customers and stakeholders alike.
(Photo - Hugh Doran, courtesy - the Irish Architectural Archive)