Ireland West Airport sees massive first quarter 18% increase in passenger numbers
THE secret is a secret no more, Ireland West Airport, probably the most convenient place to fly to or from in Ireland is seeing massive increases in passenger numbers, with the first quarter of 2024 the busiest on record as 159,000 passengers travelled through the airport between the months of January and March.
The passenger numbers represented an 18pc increase on 2023 passenger numbers and a 6pc increase on the previous busiest first quarter, which occurred in 2019, when 143,000 passengers travelled through the airport.
The airport will operate flights to 21 International destinations this summer and is served by three of Europe's major international airlines, Aer Lingus, Lauda Europe and Ryanair.
146,000 passengers, (20pc increase on same period in 2023) travelled on services to and from the UK in the first quarter of the year, boosted by record passenger numbers on the airport's services to London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Liverpool in particular.
Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair recorded their busiest ever first quarter for passenger numbers at the airport.
In addition, 12,000 passengers travelled on services to and from Malaga, Lanzarote and Tenerife, which was a new record for the airport.
The return after a four-year absence of the weekly services to Lanzarote and Tenerife, proved hugely popular with holidaymakers in the region.
The strong passenger numbers coincide with the commencement of the summer 2024 flight schedule at the airport which will see Ryanair operate their biggest ever summer sun and European city break schedule.
In total, Ryanair will operate flights to nine city break and sun destinations across Europe, with 32 weekly flights and 170,000 seats available to and from European hotspots such as Alicante, Barcelona, Cologne, Faro, Lanzarote, Majorca, Malaga, Milan and Tenerife.
The 2024 summer schedule represents an increase of 3pc compared to summer 2023.
Commenting on a strong first quarter, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said, “The first quarter of the year has proven to be a very encouraging one for the airport with record numbers choosing the airport for their short breaks and sun holidays.
"The increased numbers are testament to the expanded route network, increased convenience, and the stressfree nature of using the airport.
"In particular, the feedback on our new security screening system has been very positive and has further enhanced the passenger experience when using the airport, providing an even more seamless and quality travel experience this summer.
"We have a great selection of destinations available this summer and look forward to welcoming even more new customers, to experience for themselves the benefits of flying from the airport,” said Mr Gilmore.
Ryanair will also operate flights to eight different UK airports this summer including, Birmingham, Bristol, East-Midlands (Nottingham), Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, London Luton and London Stansted.
The summer schedule will see Aer Lingus continue to operate daily flights to London Heathrow, providing onward connectivity to 80+ destinations worldwide with their codeshare partners such Air Canada, Alaska
Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, JetBlue and United Airlines.
In a further boost for holidaymakers this summer, the installation of a new next-generation cabin baggage screening system, which is now fully operational at the airport, will further enhance the passenger experience at the airport.
These new machines remove the need for passengers to remove laptops and liquids from cabin bags and further speed up queue times.
With the installation of these new machines, the restriction on liquids of more than 100ml no longer applies, and passengers can travel with larger quantities of liquids if they fit into a cabin bag.
In addition, electrical items such as laptops and tablets no longer must be separately screened and can remain in cabin bags, which will come as welcome news for passengers using the airport.
The new system reduces touch points and will make the passenger journey through security even quicker and easier.