Dublin Airport passenger numbers up 60 per cent since Terminal 2 opened

Home to Aer Lingus, Emirates, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Norwegian, the multi award-winning passenger terminal facilitates flights to 94 destinations – 60 European, 14 in Britain, 17 in North America, one in the Middle East, and two in Ireland.

Terminal 2 was designed to improve the passenger experience at the airport and to help boost Dublin Airport’s connectivity. Long-haul connectivity has grown by more than 150 per cent since the new terminal opened, while short-haul connectivity has increased by 51 per cent. 

Dublin Airport’s passenger numbers have increased by more than 60 per cent since T2 opened in 2010 and are up a further six per cent so far this year. Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison, said Terminal 2 has been a huge success and has delivered significant benefits to the Irish economy. 

Harrison said: “Terminal 2 has been a key asset in driving connectivity and growing passenger numbers by more than 60 per cent since 2010 and this growth stimulates tourism, trade and investment throughout the country. T2 has also helped bring significant improvements in Dublin Airport’s customer satisfaction ratings during this time.”

The advent of T2 and its U.S. Pre-clearance facility has also helped deliver a huge expansion in transatlantic traffic at Dublin Airport over the past eight years. 

He continued: “We have worked closely with our airline partners to grow North American connectivity and to build a substantial transfer business. Dublin Airport’s transatlantic traffic has more than doubled since 2010 and Dublin is now the sixth largest gateway between Europe and North America.” 

A record 3.5 million transatlantic passengers were welcomed to the airport last year and transatlantic traffic is up a further 16 per cent so far in 2018. In 2010, when T2 opened, Dublin Airport had 1.5 million transatlantic passengers per year.

There has also been strong growth in the airport’s transfer business. The number of connecting passengers has increased five-fold since 2010 to almost 1.6 million passengers in 2017. 

Three new transatlantic routes will start next year, as Aer Lingus will launch flights to Minneapolis St. Paul and Montréal, while American Airlines will operate flights to Dallas.

Construction work on Terminal 2 started on the 1 October 2007 and the first piece of structural steel was erected on 31 March 2008. At its peak, the Terminal 2 project was the largest construction project in the State, with 2,600 workers on site. 

Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport have increased by six per cent so far this year, with almost 27 million passengers using the airport between January and October. Dublin Airport, which has flights to almost 190 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines, has welcomed 1.6 million extra passengers during the first 10 months of this year. 

Dublin Airport supports 117,300 jobs in the Irish economy, including 19,200 people employed directly at the airport and its environs. The economic activity underpinned by Dublin Airport in terms of the spin-off benefits through trade, tourism, and jobs is worth €8.3 billion to the Irish economy annually.