IAA Safely and Efficiently Managed 1 Million Flights in 2015
In 2015 the Irish Aviation Authority safely and efficiently managed 1 million flights, up 5.6% on 2014. This equated to an average of 2,811 flights every day managed by the IAA at Irish State airports, through Irish airspace and on the North Atlantic.
Dublin air traffic increased by 10% in 2015, when compared to the previous year, while Ireland’s en route traffic movements (flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land) increased by 5.4%. The IAA’s North Atlantic Communications service also recorded strong growth of 5.3% in 2015.
Eamonn Brennan, IAA Chief Executive, said, “2015 was a great year for the Irish aviation industry and this is reflected in landmark 1 million flights that were safely and efficiently handled by the IAA. Of particular note was the dramatic growth experienced at Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is now operating at 2008 levels and there is a pressing need to construct a new parallel runway at Dublin Airport as soon as possible. There was also very strong growth in our transatlantic traffic, driven by the strength of the dollar and the low cost of oil. Cork and Shannon have had a number of announcements of new services in recent months, which should see those figures rise in 2016. All in all, I am very pleased with our performance in 2015 and am optimistic for another year of robust growth in 2016”.
Focus on December 2015
In December, total flights in Irish airspace increased by 12.8% when compared to December 2014. There was an average of 1,412 daily flights during December 2015, with the busiest day being 18th December with 1,778 flights in Irish airspace.
There was a significant increase of 17.3% in Ireland’s en route traffic movements (flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land) to 25,353 movements during December 2015 – the largest monthly increase recorded in 2015.
The IAA’s North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe / North America) also saw a very significant increase of 12.4% to 34,676 flights in December 2015, when compared to the same month in 2014.
In relation to international arrivals and departures, the commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports was up by 7.5% in December 2015, when compared to December 2014. Individually, the December 2015 figures for the three State airports, when compared to the same month in the previous year are:
- Dublin up 9.3%, with an average of 467 commercial daily movements.
- Cork up 5.4%, with an average of 44 commercial daily movements.
- Shannon down 7.7% with an average of 42 commercial daily movements.
Click here for more detailed flight statistics.
For media queries, contact:
Tony Lane
Communications Executive
Irish Aviation Authority
Tel: +353 1 603 1199
Mob: +353 86 7911864