Approximately 10 per cent of all passengers going through Shannon Airport in 2005 were members of the US military, the Dublin Airport Authority revealed yesterday.

Chief executive Declan Collier said about 330,000 military personnel passed through the airport in 2005, which was up from 210,000 in the previous year.

A total of 3.3 million passengers passed through Shannon in 2005, up from 2.3 million in 2004.

Mr Collier denied the growth in US military traffic was the main driver of growth at the airport. His colleague, Dublin Airport Authority chairman Gary McGann, said that the decision by the budget carrier Ryanair to establish a base at Shannon during 2005 was a major factor in the growth in passenger numbers at the airport.