The number of passengers that travelled through Dublin Airport in May was up 2.7 per cent on the same period last year to top 3.5 million people, its operator said on Wednesday.
DAA said the month was consistently busy with 28 of the 31 days seeing the airport welcome more than 100,000 passengers, with more than 120,000 travelling through on eight days.
A total of 14.3 million passengers have passed through Dublin Airport in the first five months of 2026, which is an increase of 7 per cent on the same period last year.
DAA said numbers were swelled in May by the start of the summer holiday season, the busy May bank holiday weekend, and the start of the mass exodus of football fans from around Britain and Europe for the World Cup in North America.
Travel between Dublin and North America in May was 13 per cent higher year-on-year, with strong numbers of visitors also arriving into Ireland from the US and Canada.
The most popular destinations for departing passengers in the month were London Heathrow; Amsterdam; Manchester; Malaga; and London Gatwick.
Dublin Airport managing director Gary McLean said demand on the airport is “very high”.
“The start of the busy summer season seems to be getting earlier every year, and this was our busiest May on record, with an additional 93,000 passengers using our airport this May compared to the same month last year,” he said.
“Demand to fly in and out of Dublin Airport is very high and we’re expecting passenger numbers to come in around 2 per cent higher this summer than last year’s record levels.”
McLean said June is set to be “another busy month” at the airport while the summer holiday season ramps up.
“We’re already seeing lots of Scottish, English, French, Dutch, Belgian and German jerseys in the terminals as they avail of Dublin Airport’s extensive route network and US pre-clearance facility, to reach North America to cheer their countries on at the tournament,” he said.
“In total, we expect up to 10,000 fans to travel through Dublin Airport in June on their way to the World Cup.”
Dublin Airport is also gearing up for Ireland’s hosting of the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year, with the airport’s original terminal building currently being transformed into a dedicated hub for delegates and international visitors.