TRAVEL: Passenger numbers up as London keeps calling

ALMOST 4.5 million people flew between Dublin and London last year making it the world’s second busiest international air route.

Passenger numbers between Dublin Airport and the five London airports increased by 370,000 in 2015, up nine per cent on the previous year.

Dublin-London is the busiest air route in Europe and second globally only to Hong Kong-Taipei, which has five million passengers per year.

“The London market, which is a key destination for Dublin Airport, had a very strong year in 2015,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison.

“The number of people who travelled by air between Dublin and London last year was the equivalent of almost the entire population of the Republic of Ireland.

“That meant that every week last year 86,000 people flew between Dublin and London –more than a full Croke Park stadium or an almost full Wembley Stadium flying between the two cities every seven days.”

Four airlines – Aer Lingus, British Airways, CityJet and Ryanair – currently operate routes from Dublin Airport to London serving London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, London City and London Luton airports.

The Dublin-London route accounted for almost 18 per cent of Dublin Airport’s total traffic last year and it attracts a high degree of business travel.

“A quarter of all of passengers on Dublin-London services are travelling for business, which is high by European standards,” Mr Harrison added.

Trade between the Republic of Ireland and the UK is worth €58 billion per year, according to the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, comprising €32 billion of exports from Ireland and €26 billion of imports to Ireland.

“Dublin-London is one of world’s busiest trade corridors and Dublin Airport is delighted to help facilitate increased trade and travel between the two countries,” Harrison said.

There is also a strong leisure market as both Dublin and London are major tourist destinations.

“London is the most popular destination from Dublin Airport and has been for many years,” Harrison added. “London is one of the great cities of the world and is hugely popular with Irish visitors either on holidays or visiting friends and relatives.

“Dublin and its hinterland has long been a popular short-break destinations for British tourists and alongside other stakeholders, Dublin Airport is supporting the new Dublin tourism brand to help grow that business and encourage visitors to explore more of the city and the region,” Mr Harrison continued.

Overall passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by 15 per cent last year to a record 25 million passengers as the airport welcomed 22 new routes and additional capacity on almost 40 other services.

In total, an extra 3.3 million people used Dublin Airport last year, as it had record levels of traffic in all its major market sectors.