Record-Breaking Summer 2018 for Irish Skies
Dublin, 6 July, 2018 – The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) announced today that total flights handled in Irish airspace for June 2018 was recorded at 112,005 movements, an increase of +4.1% over June 2017. This includes; total terminal movements (Dublin, Cork, Shannon) North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe/US flights) and overflights managed. These record-breaking figures mean that Ireland’s skies are set for their busiest-ever summer.
In relation to international arrivals and departures, the commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports were up by +4.7% in June 2018, when compared to June 2017. The June figures for the three State airports, when compared to the same month in the previous year, were as follows;
✈ Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were up by +4.9% with an average of 703 daily commercial movements at Dublin.
✈ Commercial terminal flights at Cork were up by +2.1%, with an average of 70 commercial daily movements at Cork.
✈ Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were up by +6.2% with an average of 70 commercial daily movements at Shannon.
Commenting on the announcement, IAA Chief Executive, Peter Kearney said; “These are positive and notable figures for the month of June. Aviation continues to open Ireland up to the world and management of air traffic growth is a key driver for our economy. The IAA continues to invest in its state-of-the-art air traffic management system and in the development of our staff, to deliver a world-class service to our airline customers.”
The IAA also continues to handle all of these flights safely without (ATFM) delay, delivering a high-quality service that meets the needs of our airline customers.
Additionally, there was an increase of +6.1% in Ireland’s overflight traffic movements (flights, which do not land in Ireland) during June 2018, in comparison to June 2017. The IAA’s analysis of North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /US Flights) saw an increase of +1% in June 2018, when compared to June 2017.
An analysis of the June 2018 data, from EUROCONTROL, also shows that six of Ireland’s Top ten “Airport Pairs” (from a billing perspective) showed growth (or neutral growth), when compared to June 2017. Significant growth was recorded for Schiphol/Amsterdam – Dublin (+16.8%), Dublin – Birmingham (+11.8%), London/Stansted – Dublin (+4.7%) and New York – London/Heathrow (+4.2%).