Air travel grew at a faster pace than expected in the State in the first six months of the year, new figures show.
The news comes as industry regulator the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirms it will allow extra take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport next summer, paving the way for further growth.
Flights in and out of the Republic increased almost 7 per cent to 157,515 in the first six months of the year, according to an IAA report on Irish air travel’s environmental performance.
European air navigation body Eurocontrol’s latest forecast had predicted an increase of 2.7 per cent for the year as a whole, the authority’s report said.
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The latest figures indicated “stronger early-year growth” than the Eurocontrol forecast, it said.
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Overall last year, 316,784 flights carrying 43.5 million passengers arrived at or left the State’s airports, the IAA said.
Carbon dioxide emissions from departing flights grew 7 per cent to 1.7 million tonnes in the first half of this year, the highest since air traffic recovered from wholesale grounding during the Covid pandemic.
Eurocontrol ranked the State’s air traffic control agency, Airnav Ireland, as second best in Europe for efficient management of air space, which played an important part in cutting or limiting emissions, the IAA said.
The IAA report, Operational Environmental Performance of Irish Aviation Entities, showed the Republic’s air travel industry beat European averages across most emissions measurements.
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Meanwhile, the IAA said on Monday it would add 28 new take-off and landing slots at Dublin Airport for summer 2027.
Its decision does not take into account the 32 million-a-year limit on passengers imposed by planners on the airport’s two terminals.
The IAA noted that the High Court has barred it from taking this into account pending a ruling from the European courts on a several questions raised by airlines in a legal challenge to the limit.
Those in the air travel industry expect Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to have increased the so-called passenger cap to 40 million by the time the decision takes effect at the end of March.
A new law gives him the power to increase or axe the cap, subject to certain conditions.
In August the State company DAA asked the Minister to increase the cap to 40 million.
Planning appeals body An Coimisiún Pleanála is now assessing this.
Monday’s decision by the IAA confirms a draft proposal that the authority published last month.
Separately, the European Commission has previously told An Coimisiún Pleanála that a ruling imposing a yearly limit of 35,672 flights at Dublin Airport between 11pm and 7am breached EU law.
The European Commission asked the State to examine the ruling, meant to limit noise at the airport.
