Dublin Airport sees its busiest day with 80,000 passengers

More than 770,000 passengers are expected to pass through Dublin Airport over the Christmas season, from this Friday until January 2nd.

Friday is expected to be the busiest day before Christmas, with 80,000 passengers due to arrive and depart through both terminals, said Dublin Airport spokesperson Siobhan O’Donnell.

The number of holiday travellers has risen 8 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Dublin Airport will close on Christmas Day. Flight operations will cease on Christmas Eve after the last flight lands at 10.55pm from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and will resume on St Stephen’s Day at 6.00am when the first flight departs for Amsterdam.

For those travelling by road today, the Ballina to Foxford road in Co Mayo is closed until further notice to facilitate the removal of a truck, and diversions are in place via Knockmore.

Delays are to be expected in Co Cork as road works are in place on the Cork to Limerick road between Buttevant and Lisballyhay until later on Friday.

In Galway, temporary traffic lights will be in place on the Galway to Longford road at Newbridge until 7pm.

Other sites of roadworks across the country that may cause delays during holiday travel include the Galway to Dublin road eastbound in Westmeath, Hughes Bridge on the Sligo to Dublin road in Sligo, Ferndale Road at the junction with Old Connaught Avenue and Thornhill Road in Wicklow, and the Wexford to Dublin road at Jack Whites in Wicklow.

For those travelling in the western and northern counties, Met Éireann forecasts showers on Friday, with afternoon highs of 6 to 9 degrees and overnight lows of 3 to 6 degrees for the whole country.

Saturday will be dry and sunny, with a few showers in places, and clouds will build up in the west later in the afternoon.

Sunday is expected to be mild and cloudy, with rain in some parts of the country and highs of 10 to 12 degrees.

Rain will affect much of the country on Monday, with heavy rainfall expected on Tuesday. Christmas Eve will bring showers to coastal areas in the west and north, with highs of 5 to 8 degrees. Christmas Day will be similar, with occasional showers along Atlantic coasts.

In the UK, the RAC has predicted that more than 12 million cars will be taking to the roads over the December 24-26 period, and the Association of British Travel Agents said more than four million Britons will travel overseas during the period from December 19th to January 3rd.