Cork and Dublin airports enjoy record-busting October

Record-busting passenger numbers continued at Cork and Dublin airports in October, with almost 3.6 million passengers going through the island’s two most popular hubs during the month.

Numbers in October were boosted by a busy bank holiday weekend and mid-term period, as well as the Cork Jazz Festival. The month also saw strong numbers of tourists travelling to Ireland, with the island’s autumn attractiveness boosted by the good work being done to promote it as the authentic home of Halloween.

Cork Airport

Cork Airport welcomed almost 307,000 passengers in October, a whopping 18% higher than the same month last year. This contributed to Cork Airport welcoming its three millionth passenger of 2025 in the final week of October – almost two months earlier than when it hit the same milestone last year.

Passenger numbers travelling through Cork Airport during the first 10 months of the year were +14.5% higher than in the same period last year.

daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “2025 is shaping up to be one of Cork Airport’s best years, with passenger numbers running two months ahead of last year. In October, nearly 50,000 more passengers used Cork Airport compared with October 2024, as the airport strengthens its position as the airport of choice for customers in the south of Ireland. It was great to see so many inbound visitors arriving for the Cork Jazz Festival, and the departure gates were busy too with lots of families heading off for some winter sunshine during the mid-term break. The cherry on top of an excellent October at Cork was the start of Aer Lingus’ new service to Prague – and the team is working on more new route additions for next year too.

“daa is continuing to invest big to maximise the potential of Cork Airport and works are progressing at pace on the construction of the new mezzanine floor in the terminal, which will soon be the location of the airport’s new passenger security screening area – fully kitted out with best-in-class C3 scanning technology.”

Dublin Airport

The number of passengers going through Dublin Airport in October jumped 8% year-on-year to an all-time record level for October of just over 3.2 million.

October was the seventh consecutive month of passenger growth, continuing a trend that started in April when the High Court imposed a stay on the Irish aviation regulator requiring it to not take account of the 32 million cap when deciding on slots available to airlines, while it awaits a ruling from Europe regarding whether the cap can be considered by the regulator when assigning slots.

daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Demand to fly remains really high and, thanks to the High Court stay on the artificial restrictions that applied last winter, numbers are much higher compared to this time last year. We’re expecting the high single digit growth seen in October to be eclipsed

over the months ahead, with double digit growth forecast in November and December and into the early months of 2026. This clearly shows the pent-up demand that’s there for travel to and from Ireland.

“Through the first 10 months of 2025, around 31.1 million passengers have passed through Dublin Airport, which is +4% – or around 1.2 million passengers – higher than the same period last year. Passenger numbers are on track to break through the 32 million level in the early part of next week – with seven weeks of the year still remaining – which shows the importance of resolving the cap issue.

“daa is continuing to work closely with all stakeholders and we’re doing everything that we possibly can to ensure the cap is lifted as soon as possible. Later this month we will provide the noise regulator ANCA with the information it requires about noise aspects of our Infrastructure Application. Once ANCA assesses this and makes a final regulatory decision, the planning authority will be able to issue its decision. We also continue to engage with local communities and are heartened to learn in our most recent survey* that 84% of Fingal residents support the development of Dublin Airport.”

Capital Investment

daa is also progressing its proposed Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for 2027 to 2031 and is currently consulting with airport users to identify the potential projects most important to them. Dublin Airport caters for more than 45 airlines with differing requirements and preferences. The consultation period allows daa to receive airline feedback about the future development of the airport and to incorporate this feedback into a submission due to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) early next year.

The CIP also informs the passenger charge approved by the IAA as regulator for the 2027 to 2031 period and sets out the key airport development projects that will be delivered over the next five to ten years to ensure we have an airport that can support Ireland’s long-term needs. Dublin Airport’s charges are – and will remain – among the lowest in Europe, especially compared to other capital city airports, providing value for our 45+ airline partners. The IAA is due to produce a draft decision in May 2026, which then goes out to formal, statutory consultation and any interested party can make a submission.