Press Statement

Preasráiteas

29 October 2020

Go to release: Air and Sea Travel Statistics September 2020

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 October 2020) released Air and Sea Travel Statistics September 2020. Commenting on the release, Gregg Patrick, Statistician, said: 

‘The Air and Sea Travel Statistics for September 2020 show a substantial decrease in overseas travel compared to the preceding month. In September, 254,400 overseas passengers arrived in Ireland, compared to 362,600 in August, a decrease of 29.8%. In September, 236,700 overseas passengers departed Ireland, compared to 328,200 in August, a decrease of 27.9%. 

September 2020 is notably the first month overseas travel has declined since April 2020, when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was at its highest in Ireland. The contrast with September 2019, when almost 1.9 million passengers arrived and departed, is even more stark. 

The September 2020 statistics show that continental routes contributed most to the passenger traffic. Some 158,300 passengers arrived on continental routes and 129,300 passengers departed on continental routes. By way of contrast, 77,000 passengers arrived on cross-channel routes and 93,500 passengers departed on cross-channel routes. Just 9,800 passengers arrived on transatlantic routes and 6,600 passengers departed these routes. 

When we look at the year-to-date picture (January-September 2020), the statistics show 4 million overseas passengers travelled to and from Ireland. This compares to almost 16 million overseas passengers in the same period in 2019. This illustrates the continuing and dramatic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on international travel to and from Ireland.’

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