Daily flights at Dublin Airport were down by 510 – almost 70 per cent – on pre-Covid levels over the seven days to Tuesday, official figures show.
The news comes as the Government prepares to lift international travel bans from Monday, July 19th, easing some of Europe’s toughest Covid curbs.
Dublin Airport – Ireland’s biggest – hosted an average of 228 daily flights in the seven days to Tuesday, July 13th, which was 510 or 69 per cent fewer than the same period in 2019, according to Eurocontrol, the EU’s air navigation body.
Eurocontrol’s figures show that 1,596 flights landed or took off at Dublin over the seven days to Tuesday, 3,568 fewer than during the same period in 2019.
The total number of flights was up 39 on the seven days to July 6th, but Eurocontrol notes that on five of the seven days, totals were down on the corresponding day the previous week.
Dublin Airport hosted 8,000-11,000 passengers a day during June, more than 90 per cent fewer than the 115,000 who would normally be expected to pass through there daily during the summer.
Sources calculate that the figure is likely to increase to about 20,000 from next week, when “non-essential” journeys will no longer be illegal.
A spokesman for Dublin Airport described the reopening of travel next week as welcome. “But any recovery is going to be slow and gradual,” he added.
Overall, Dublin has lost 251,826 flights since March 2020, Eurocontrol calculates.
The air navigation body published statistics earlier this week showing that the Republic's airports hosted 313 flights on Sunday, July 11th, ranking it 23rd in Europe. The seven-day average to July 13th put the Republic in 36th position.
Easing restrictions
Eurocontrol and several other organisations have said air travel in Europe recovered to about 60 per cent of 2019 levels this month as holiday makers took advantage of easing restrictions and headed to the sun.
Airlines are hoping that the lifting of travel bans next week, combined with the issuing of EU digital Covid certificates, will boost travel to and from the Republic.
Aer Lingus said on Wednesday it had confirmed 38 routes to Europe from Cork and Dublin Airports for this summer.
The airline said demand was growing for popular sunspots in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Croatia.
Reid Moody, the airline's chief strategy and planning officer, said customers were increasingly searching online for flights to European cities.
“We have also seen strong interest in travel to some of our leading holiday destinations as customers book a much-needed getaway,” he said.
Ryanair DAC chief executive, Eddie Wilson, declared that Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan's failure to promote air travel's recovery had rendered the Republic Europe's "most damaged" aviation market.
"Other island nations like Malta and Cyprus have vastly outperformed Ireland, which remains Paddy last," he said.
