Cork Airport handled 203,466 passengers in February 2025, reflecting a 6pc increase compared to the same month in the previous year.
The busy travel day on February 21 coincided with the end of the mid-term break, leading to a rise in passengers seeking short city breaks or winter sun holidays.
Services to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Seville, and Paris showed healthy load factors, with sun destinations such as Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote, and Tenerife also experiencing increased demand.
The introduction of special charter services to Verona supplemented the airport’s existing ski routes to Salzburg, Munich, and Lyon, further enhancing travel options for winter sports enthusiasts.
Cork Airport announced a new integrated ticketing initiative with Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann, allowing passengers from Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Laois to enjoy a seamless journey with a single ticket covering rail and bus transfers to the airport.
Kenny Jacobs, CEO of daa, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports shared: “Passenger traffic at Cork Airport last month was up 6pc compared with February 2024. The busiest day of the month (February 21) coincided with the last day of the mid-term break as families took the opportunity to jet off on a short city break or a last-minute winter sun holiday. The increased number of passengers travelling during mid-term resulted in very healthy load factors and performance on services to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Seville and Paris, while popular sun destinations also recorded a significant boost – particularly Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote and Tenerife.
“Our load factors on ski services are doing extremely well and throughout February, special charter services to Verona were added to the complement of ski routes from Cork – Salzburg, Munich and Lyon.
“The team at Cork Airport has been making great strides in improving public transport access and during the month, they announced a new integrated ticketing initiative with Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann which means that passengers travelling from Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Laois can purchase one ticket, which includes a hassle-free rail journey followed by a bus transfer from Kent Station to the airport. Cork Airport needs more public transport services, and the team are working closely with the National Transport Authority (NTA) on that front.”
