Cork Airport welcomed a total of 2.24 million passengers in 2022, a recovery of 768 per cent on 2021 traffic and 86 per cent on 2019, which was the last comparable period before the pandemic.
Last year saw the swift recovery of international travel after the removal of the last pandemic restrictions. Airport management indicate that the airport is well on track for a very strong recovery in 2023 with Cork firmly positioning itself as the state’s second busiest airport.
“With the extremely strong demand for international travel last year coupled with new route additions, Cork Airport delivered exceptional passenger recovery on top of its successful runway reconstruction, completed in November 2021,” management said. “Throughout the last two years, the steadfast support and assistance from the Department of Transport and the Irish Government has greatly aided the recovery of passenger traffic at Cork Airport.”
In 2022, Cork Airport offered a total 45 scheduled routes serving the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Croatia. Eight scheduled airlines operated services in 2022 – Ryanair, Aer Lingus, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Vueling, SWISS International Air Lines and TUI, together with a number of charter airlines.
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Passenger traffic in December 2022 was marginally higher than that experienced in December 2019, indicating a welcome return to pre-pandemic demand for international travel to and from Cork Airport.
Managing director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy, says after two years of Covid 19 they are delighted with the strength of the recovery on-site in 2022.
“We welcomed back eight scheduled airlines together with charter airlines and served 2.24 million passengers. Our team works very hard at Cork Airport, to make the passenger journey seamless, friendly, and easy. The passenger satisfaction scores of 9.2 out of 10 reflect this. We thank our loyal and valued customers and encourage prospective passengers in the hinterland of Munster and south Leinster to bear this ease and convenience in mind when booking their summer holidays in 2023.”
Meanwhile, last month Ryanair announced the creation of ninety direct jobs at Cork Airport following the launch of five additional summer routes to Seville, La Rochelle, the East Midlands in the UK, Venice Treviso and Rome.
Three new planes will operate out of Cork to facilitate the extra routes to destinations in Spain, Italy, France and UK. The aircraft will employ thirty members of staff each.
Ryanair now represents 70 per cent of the market share at Cork Airport. It will operate 270 flights each week between March and October of this year.