Summer is in full swing at Cork and Dublin airports with record numbers of passengers passing through both airports in June, but the terminals passenger cap continues to weigh down Dublin.

Cork Airport – already Ireland’s fastest-growing airport - welcomed 355k passengers last month, making it the busiest June in the airport’s 63-year history (+15% versus June 2024). 

Cork Airport also celebrated being crowned the “Best Regional Airport in Europe” for the third time by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe, building on previous wins in 2019 and 2017. The award recognised the growth of the airport’s route network in recent years, its ambitious capital development plans, the promotion of inbound tourism and recent sustainability initiatives.

Dublin Airport also recorded its busiest June ever, with a total of 3.54m passengers (+5.8% (+192k) vs June 2024). This included 12 days with 120k or more passengers (there were none in June 2024) and the airport’s busiest day ever on Sunday, June 29, when the tally reached 129k (+1.8% (2.3k pax) more than the previous busiest ever day). US passengers were up +4% vs June 2024, highlighting the importance of US connectivity.

The last week of June (23rd to 29th) also broke records as the new ‘busiest ever’ week for both Cork and Dublin airports – surpassing all previous weekly records in all previous years. Cork welcomed 85k passengers (+17% vs 2024) and Dublin 858k (up 8% vs 2024).

June also marked the completion of the first half of the year, with a total of 1.65m passengers passing through Cork Airport (+14.5% vs H1 2024) and 16.96m through Dublin in H1(+2.7% vs H1 2024 (+450k)).

However, Dublin Airport’s surging passenger numbers highlight the urgency of the government confirming its proposed solution to the cap issue as soon as possible. Dublin Airport is on track to exceed 36 million passengers this year and has no means of reducing this as it does not control the slot process. Meanwhile the local planning authority last month issued daa with an enforcement notice ordering it to comply with a 32 million passengers a year limit as it sees “no compelling reasons for not taking enforcement action”.

This has caused considerable concern among airlines and tourism operators. daa joins Ryanair, Airlines for America, IATA and other stakeholders in urging the government to share proposals to resolve the cap impasse before the Dáil breaks for the summer on July 17.

Cork Airport commentary

Commenting, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “As a Cork native, I already knew Cork Airport was the best run regional airport in Europe, but it was great to see this acknowledged by the European airport industry. Well done to all the team at Cork who have made their county, province and the whole country proud by winning this superb accolade.

“There was more to celebrate with Air France’s announcement of their year-round service to Paris Charles de Gaulle. Popular summer routes to La Rochelle, Zadar and Carcassonne resumed in early June – all fantastic destinations for summer holidays. And SunExpress announced a new service to Antalya for summer 2026.

“We were also delighted to welcome the Taoiseach and the family of one of Cork’s most famous sons – and one of the world’s most respected guitarists – for the renaming of our main roadway as Rory Gallagher Avenue. Rory was a frequent user of Cork Airport and his name and legacy are now immortalised at his favourite gateway to the world.” 

Dublin Airport commentary

“Any other airport in Europe would be delighted to break previous passenger records, knowing the huge economic contribution that comes from welcoming 3.54m visitors to our shores. But for Dublin it’s bittersweet: the outdated cap remains a millstone weighing down every airline considering keeping or starting new routes, which has ripple effects for any business investing in Ireland as well as our homegrown industries, particularly tourism. 

“This week we heard the bad news that TUI will no longer base two aircraft in Dublin Airport from summer 2026. While we look forward to supporting their new partner model, TUI’s decision is a reminder about how easily airlines can decide to relocate aircraft and routes away from Ireland. The artificial cap on numbers at Dublin Airport’s terminals is an own goal that needs to be removed. 

“There is one inescapable fact here: we are an island. Connectivity is not a nice to have, it’s a prerequisite for our prosperity, critical to our diaspora, and intrinsic to our international reputation. To achieve the local planning authority’s order to reduce passenger numbers to a total of 32 million, we’d have to turn away four million passengers this year – and would be acting illegally in doing so. 

“We’d also be hanging an ‘Ireland closed for business sign’, which would have severe implications for the economy. Industry research shows that every additional one million passengers results in 750 new aviation jobs. The opposite is also true – four million fewer passengers means 3,000 fewer aviation jobs, never mind the knock-on impacts for tourism and businesses across the island.

“The government has confirmed it supports a lifting of the cap and ‘will do whatever we can to achieve this’. We encourage the government to share the solutions under consideration and the timeline to get this done.

“In the meantime, Dublin Airport will continue to do what it does best, welcoming hundreds of thousands of passengers every day to Ireland’s gateway to the world. My thanks to all the hardworking employees who make this a smooth and enjoyable journey for all our passengers.”