More than 2.3 million passengers travelled through State-owned Shannon Airport last year, which was the highest number in 16 years and up 9 per cent on 2024.
The Shannon Airport Group said the increase came during a year of “major investment” and new routes.
Shannon Airport will operate 40 routes in 2026 to destinations across Europe, the US and UK. This includes five new routes in the summer schedule – Rome, Warsaw, Madrid and Poznan with Ryanair, and Frankfurt with Discover Airlines, a Lufthansa Group subsidiary.
The group said plans are also in place to invest more than €40 million this year, with projects including a full upgrade of the airport’s immigration and baggage halls, and upgraded taxiways.
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The airport is building a “thermal wrap” of the external arrivals area of its terminal, which it says will be” key” to helping it reach its energy efficiency targets into the future.
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Passenger growth in 2025 was assisted by new routes and expanded services, the company said.
Ryanair added a fourth aircraft at Shannon, and announced new destinations including Madeira, Lapland and Madrid.
The airport group also added 1,000 new passenger car park spaces, bringing to more than 5,600 the total number of spaces at Shannon Airport, across five short-stay and long-stay car parks, in which over 200,000 cars were parked in 2025.
The group also launched Ireland’s first airfield solar PV farm, which it says is set to generate up to 20 per cent of the airport’s electricity needs.
“This was another step forward in the group’s sustainability journey which also saw improved operational controls and energy management systems,” it said.
Shannon Group chief executive Ray O’Driscoll said: “We achieved our highest passenger numbers in over 16 years and invested over €20 million in projects that have a very tangible benefit to both passengers and our sustainability goals.
“This brought our overall investment in the group to almost €200 million in just over a decade. We’re looking forward to an even more ambitious 2026, during which passengers will have the choice of 40 routes, the highest number operating from Shannon Airport in 17 years.”
