Dublin Airport handled a record 31.5 million passengers during 2018, an increase of 6% from 2017.
An additional 1.9 million passengers used the airport in 2018.
Roughly 29.4 million people began and ended their journey at the airport and an additional 2.1 million passengers used the airport as a hub.
Short-haul passenger numbers grew by 5% to 26.5 million, while long-haul traffic increased by 15% to 5 million.
Growth in passenger traffic is said to be down to an increase in transatlantic and other long-haul routes, along with traffic growth in continental European and the continued expansion of the airport as a major gateway between North America and Europe.
The airport experienced its eighth consecutive year of passenger growth in 2018.
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By GlobalDataDublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison said: “Dublin Airport is a key economic engine for Ireland and last year’s traffic growth helped deliver a record year for Irish tourism, bringing additional jobs and tourism spending throughout the island.”
“Dublin Airport’s record passenger numbers also boosted Irish trade and exports and helped facilitate greater levels of foreign direct investment in Ireland and by Irish companies overseas. Air connectivity is essential for the Irish economy and the provision of new and expanded services at Dublin Airport benefits the entire country.”
Continental European traffic grew by 7% in 2018 with around 16.3 million passengers travelling to and from continental European locations.
Other international traffic to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa increased by 17% to just over 1 million.
The airport had seen the addition of 16 new routes last year, including new services to Beijing, Hong Kong, Montreal, and Seattle, as well as capacity increases on 22 existing services as airlines included more flights and deployed larger aircraft on some of their Dublin routes.
2019 will see Dublin Airport add 19 new routes including flights to long-haul destinations include Calgary, Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St Paul, and Hamilton, Ontario.
The airport will see inclusion of flights to new destinations such as the Sardinian capital Cagliari, Kyiv, and Gothenburg.