Dublin, Cork and Shannon report 1% increase in 2011 pax to 18.8 million

Ireland's Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) stated (17-Jan-2012) 22.7 million passengers were handled at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports during 2011, a 1% year-on-year increase. Traffic highlights:

• Dublin Airport: 18.8 million, +2.2% year-on-year;
• Cork Airport: 2.4 million, -3.0%;
• Shannon Airport: 1.6 million, -7.0%.

DAA: "More than 100,000 extra passengers travelled through DAA airports last year, as overall traffic stabilised after recent declines.... While many European economies, including Ireland, remain weak and economic performance is the main driver of air travel, there are some positive signals for the year ahead.... Dublin Airport will see new routes opening to Dubai, Washington, Verona, Stockholm, and Dusseldorf this year, while Cork Airport is adding new routes to Pisa, Palma, Brussels and Girona. A number of airlines have also announced extra capacity on a significant number of existing routes across the three airports," Director of strategy, Vincent Harrison. Source: Company report, 17-Jan-2012. [more - original PR]