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E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Olive Loughnane +353 21 453 5161
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CSO statistical release, , 11am

Aviation Statistics

2013

Total number of passengers handled by Irish airports 2011 - 2013
     
 201120122013% change
 2012-2013
     
All passengers23,657,70423,813,09024,775,7354.0
     

Increase of 4.0% in number of passengers handled by Irish airports in 2013

Figure 1: Total passenger numbers handled by Irish airports
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In 2013, almost 25 million passengers passed through Irish airports, an increase of 4.0% over the previous year.  Passenger numbers increased in Dublin, Donegal, Kerry, Shannon, Connemara and Inishmore airports while passenger numbers fell in the remaining airports. Dublin airport accounted for 81.3% of all passengers. See Table 1.

The number of departing passengers marginally exceeded those arriving for the main airports in 2013.  In total, for the main airports, there were 12.31 million arrivals and 12.37 million departures. See Tables 2 and 6.

The results also show that:

  • Just over 204,000 flights were handled by Ireland's five main airports in 2013.  Dublin accounted for 79.2% of all flights (161,976) while Cork handled almost 10% of all flights (20,173). See Tables 7, 8 and 9.
  • Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted were the most popular routes for passengers in Dublin airport in 2013. For Cork, it was Heathrow, Stansted and Amsterdam. In Shannon, the main routes were Heathrow, Stansted and Newark while Stansted, Luton and Liverpool were the most popular routes to and from Knock. See Tables 10A to 10E.
  • In 2013, more than eight out of every ten passengers (84.6%) on international flights in the five main airports were travelling to or from Europe and almost 9% were travelling to or from North America. The most popular countries of origin/destination were the UK, Spain and the United States of America. See Table 11.
  • Ireland's main airports handled a total of 128.1 thousand tonnes of freight in 2013. International freight accounted for 90.0% of the total. See Table 12.
Table 1: Total passenger numbers handled by all airports, 2011 - 2013
     
Airport201120122013% change 2012-2013
     
Dublin18,749,07819,090,78120,148,5745.5
Cork2,356,6292,333,6432,252,636-3.5
Shannon1,364,8311,286,1391,308,2421.7
Knock653,637677,368665,558-1.7
Kerry310,937286,442306,0426.8
Waterford81,57577,87528,168-63.8
Donegal38,30929,22633,76815.5
Connemara17,96619,49020,3544.4
Inishmore10,62912,12612,3932.2
Galway167,002---
Sligo17,111---
     
Total23,657,70423,813,09024,775,7354.0
     
1 Galway and Sligo airports ceased operations in 2011  
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 1 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 2: Passenger numbers handled by main airports classified by arrivals and departures, 2013
      Number
Passenger typeCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Arrivals1,122,23410,072,811151,788328,129639,54412,314,506
       
Departures1,130,40210,075,763154,254337,429668,69812,366,546
       
All passengers2,252,63620,148,574306,042665,5581,308,24224,681,052
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 2 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 3: Total passenger numbers1 handled by all airports, 2008 - 2013
      Number
Airport200820092010201120122013
       
Connemara19,44218,86919,61217,96619,49020,354
Cork3,259,1092,767,7762,422,8722,356,6292,333,6432,252,636
Donegal65,53950,76146,82538,30929,22633,768
Dublin23,507,20520,507,44618,426,82318,749,07819,090,78120,148,574
Galway2266,473195,804154,81467,002--
Inishmore10,6289,87211,65010,62912,12612,393
Kerry426,115356,738383,866310,937286,442306,042
Knock630,806606,464586,393653,637677,368665,558
Shannon2,956,3272,579,6761,531,3091,364,8311,286,1391,308,242
Sligo242,49326,70621,0777,111--
Waterford144,253110,826103,98681,57577,87528,168
       
Total31,328,39027,230,93823,709,22723,657,70423,813,09024,775,735
       
1 Passenger numbers refer to commercial passengers only. Transit passengers are counted twice (i.e. both as
   arriving and departing passengers).    
2 Galway and Sligo ceased commercial flights during 2011   
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 3 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 4: Passenger numbers handled by the main airports per month, 2013
      Number
MonthCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
 
January135,7571,157,65013,87032,07659,3471,398,700
February135,7251,166,40815,76234,87655,9711,408,742
March165,0861,550,93020,75943,82888,0751,868,678
April184,4511,610,42426,84255,61096,5871,973,914
May210,3531,850,19731,21764,328122,8132,278,908
June239,8701,999,41631,16669,563154,2122,494,227
July264,8642,175,72734,35278,998166,0222,719,963
August246,6072,155,20335,51385,650166,5072,689,480
September202,2681,880,96130,44962,740133,5462,309,964
October189,4051,780,92829,63762,255106,8502,169,075
November140,0711,410,82418,48538,45777,3991,685,236
December138,1791,409,90617,99037,17780,9131,684,165
      
Total2,252,63620,148,574306,042665,5581,308,24224,681,052
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 4 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 5: Passenger numbers handled by the main airports classified by national and international traffic, 2013
      Number
TrafficCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
National traffic4,45364,19932,88706,495108,034
      
International traffic2,248,18320,084,375273,155665,5581,301,74724,573,018
       
Total traffic2,252,63620,148,574306,042665,5581,308,24224,681,052
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 5 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 6: Passenger numbers handled by the main airports classified by arrivals and departures per month, 2013
      Number
MonthCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
All passengers      
January135,7571,157,65013,87032,07659,3471,398,700
February135,7251,166,40815,76234,87655,9711,408,742
March165,0861,550,93020,75943,82888,0751,868,678
April184,4511,610,42426,84255,61096,5871,973,914
May210,3531,850,19731,21764,328122,8132,278,908
June239,8701,999,41631,16669,563154,2122,494,227
July264,8642,175,72734,35278,998166,0222,719,963
August246,6072,155,20335,51385,650166,5072,689,480
September202,2681,880,96130,44962,740133,5462,309,964
October189,4051,780,92829,63762,255106,8502,169,075
November140,0711,410,82418,48538,45777,3991,685,236
December138,1791,409,90617,99037,17780,9131,684,165
       
Total passengers2,252,63620,148,574306,042665,5581,308,24224,681,052
       
Arrivals      
January65,456574,5925,91113,88627,261687,106
February67,972586,1237,84817,31327,724706,980
March81,693767,64410,79822,23442,264924,633
April92,168819,25112,70726,48648,220998,832
May101,964904,68915,75831,79060,2121,114,413
June113,654961,99514,84533,23472,9831,196,711
July136,2121,100,14917,82840,50082,7191,377,408
August126,0021,102,02317,86442,71580,7191,369,323
September100,652950,24514,69229,88464,0141,159,487
October95,690891,89314,88331,27151,5491,085,286
November70,227710,2508,87119,13138,044846,523
December70,544703,9579,78319,68543,835847,804
       
Total arrivals1,122,23410,072,811151,788328,129639,54412,314,506
       
Departures      
January70,301583,0587,95918,19032,086711,594
February67,753580,2857,91417,56328,247701,762
March83,393783,2869,96121,59445,811944,045
April92,283791,17314,13529,12448,367975,082
May108,389945,50815,45932,53862,6011,164,495
June126,2161,037,42116,32136,32981,2291,297,516
July128,6521,075,57816,52438,49883,3031,342,555
August120,6051,053,18017,64942,93585,7881,320,157
September101,616930,71615,75732,85669,5321,150,477
October93,715889,03514,75430,98455,3011,083,789
November69,844700,5749,61419,32639,355838,713
December67,635705,9498,20717,49237,078836,361
       
Total departures1,130,40210,075,763154,254337,429668,69812,366,546
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 6 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 7: Number of flights handled by the main airports classified by national and international traffic, 2013
      Number
TrafficCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
National traffic3243,4741,42209886,208
       
International traffic19,849158,5022,0586,19811,660198,267
       
Total traffic20,173161,9763,4806,19812,648204,475
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 7 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 8: Number of flights handled by the main airports classified by arrivals and departures, 2013
      Number
FlightsCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Arrivals10,13181,0801,7393,0996,332102,381
       
Departures10,04280,8961,7413,0996,316102,094
       
All flights20,173161,9763,4806,19812,648204,475
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 8 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 9: Number of flights handled by the main airports classified by scheduled and non-scheduled travel, 2013
      Number
FlightsCorkDublinKerryKnockShannonTotal
       
Scheduled flights19,411158,1913,4525,15411,826198,034
       
Non-scheduled flights7623,785281,0448226,441
       
All flights20,173161,9763,4806,19812,648204,475
       
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 9 (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10A: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Dublin airport by number of passengers, 2013
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
    
London - Heathrow812,716851,2891,664,005
London - Gatwick497,097481,425978,522
London - Stansted364,885360,738725,623
Paris - Charles De Gaulle316,170315,312631,482
Manchester311,799311,609623,408
New York - John F Kennedy291,763296,109587,872
Birmingham282,088280,831562,919
Frankfurt255,560255,416510,976
Amsterdam Schiphol 248,401250,707499,108
Malaga221,527218,616440,143
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 10A (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10B: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Cork airport by number of passengers, 2013
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
    
London - Heathrow192,757198,984391,741
London - Stansted119,378118,924238,302
Amsterdam Schiphol 85,49486,844172,338
London - Gatwick58,95059,068118,018
Malaga55,88455,886111,770
Lanzarote47,22843,90491,132
Paris - Charles De Gaulle42,47142,66185,132
Faro40,48541,44181,926
Manchester37,03239,19976,231
Birmingham37,42338,13275,555
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 10B (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10C: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Shannon airport by number of passengers, 2013
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
    
London - Heathrow124,925133,325258,250
London - Stansted93,50389,978183,481
Newark53,09854,636107,734
London - Gatwick52,64952,087104,736
New York - John F Kennedy51,38251,302102,684
Boston - Logan35,35436,79972,153
Manchester27,01626,92153,937
Lanzarote21,24122,82744,068
Palma De Mallorca17,17817,14534,323
Wroclaw - Strachowice17,17617,03834,214
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 10C (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10D: Top 10 arrivals and departures for Knock airport by number of passengers, 2013
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
    
London - Stansted55,62559,047114,672
London - Luton52,26152,869105,130
Liverpool - John Lennon41,90143,22085,121
London - Gatwick33,48234,20267,684
East Midlands28,96029,68958,649
Faro15,14815,35130,499
Bristol13,51013,89827,408
Birmingham12,50513,11825,623
Manchester12,70912,67125,380
Lanzarote11,81212,16223,974
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 10D (XLS 11KB)
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Table 10E: Top 5 arrivals and departures for Kerry airport by number of passengers, 2013
   Number
 ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
    
London - Luton46,55349,73396,286
London - Stansted39,41237,80377,215
Frankfurt - Hahn28,20628,02656,232
Dublin16,14816,73932,887
Alicante11,00511,15022,155
    
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 10E (XLS 11KB)
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Table 11: Number of passengers handled by the main Irish airports by country of flight stage origin and destination, 2013
     Number
ContinentCountry ArrivalsDeparturesTotal
      
EuropeAustria 63,59663,246126,842
 Belgium 211,014211,760422,774
 Czech Republic 52,49453,514106,008
 Denmark 127,744124,986252,730
 France 783,611785,4681,569,079
 Germany 753,070754,1351,507,205
 Hungary 83,38179,998163,379
 Italy 485,646478,716964,362
 Latvia 53,46754,295107,762
 Lithuania 83,51283,382166,894
 Netherlands 401,421405,854807,275
 Norway 63,52066,282129,802
 Poland 468,714459,388928,102
 Portugal 344,786341,060685,846
 Spain 1,114,3281,102,2992,216,627
 Sweden 74,69975,375150,074
 Switzerland 159,358160,087319,445
 UK - England 4,337,7194,385,7758,723,494
 UK - Northern Ireland 9607401,700
 UK - Scotland 418,360416,808835,168
 UK - Wales 32,04332,27664,319
 UK - Other 24,41724,89249,309
 Total UK 4,813,4994,860,4919,673,990
 Other  241,526236,955478,481
 Total Europe10,379,38610,397,29120,776,677
   
North AmericaCanada 56,51261,748118,260
 USA 1,037,9921,051,8802,089,872
 Other 12526151
 Total North America 1,094,6291,113,6542,208,283
     
AfricaCanary Islands 409,416412,709822,125
 Other 14,62714,56629,193
 Total Africa 424,043427,275851,318
    
AsiaTurkey 112,842112,681225,523
 United Arab Emirates 252,583252,116504,699
 Other 5735901,163
 Total Asia 365,998365,387731,385
   
Other1Total other 2,6552,7005,355
     
All continents  12,266,71112,306,30724,573,018
      
1 Due to residual coding errors some passengers cannot be assigned a country of flight origin/destination
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 11 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 12: Air freight handled by the main airports classified by national & international traffic and arrivals & departures, 2013
     Tonnes
TrafficCorkDublinKnockShannonTotal
      
National freight traffic444,89907,81512,757
      
International freight traffic607108,583136,107115,310
      
Arrivals - freight39960,901136,96268,276
      
Departures - freight25252,58006,95959,791
      
All freight651113,4821313,921128,067
      
Open in Excel: Aviation Statistics 2013 Table 12 (XLS 11KB)
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Background Notes

Introduction      

Statistics on Aviation are collected under Statutory Instrument (S.I.) No. 91 of 2014 - Statistics (carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air) Order 2013.

The data in this release gives details on the number of passengers, the number of flights classified by arrivals and departures, and by reference to national and international traffic; and covers both scheduled and non-scheduled flights. It also provides information on air freight and mail (in tonnes).  The release also highlights the top routes for each of the five main airports: Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry.

Data sources

Aviation statistics are compiled from data supplied by all Irish airports. The following Irish airports provide data to the Central Statistics Office: Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Kerry, Knock, Waterford, Connemara, Donegal and Inishmore. Galway and Sligo airports ceased operations in 2011. Data for the five main airports is supplied on a monthly basis. Data for all other (smaller) airports is supplied annually to the Central Statistics Office.

History

Previously aviation statistics have been published as part of the annual Transport Omnibus publication and on the CSO Statbank. This is the first time the data is published as a separate e-release (August 2014). Further details will be provided in the Transport Omnibus which is published in the final quarter of each year.

Definitions

Main airports: There are five main airports in Ireland and these are Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry. Together, they accounted for 24.7 million passengers in 2013 (covering arrivals and departures). The four smaller regional airports carried less than 100,000 passengers between them.

Scheduled flight: The term 'scheduled' in this release, refers to a commercial air service operated according to a published timetable, or with such a regular frequency that it constitutes an easily recognisable systematic series of flights.

Non-scheduled flight: The term 'non-scheduled' in this release, refers to a commercial air service other than scheduled air service e.g. chartered or private aircraft flights.

Direct transit passengers: Passengers who, after a short stop, continue their journey on the same aircraft on a flight having the same flight number as the flight on which they arrive. These passengers are en route to another destination and generally do not disembark from their aircraft.

Transfer passengers: Transfer passengers or ‘connecting passengers’ are also defined as those who make a stop at an airport without any particular purpose other than being en route to another destination. However, unlike transits, transfer passengers disembark the aircraft and pass through the airport en route to their connecting flight.

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