A celebratory ceremony was held in the old terminal at Dublin airport to commemorate 85 years since its opening.
Dublin airport opened January 19 1940, although the terminal was nor ready for several more months.
The airfield and original terminal building cost £150,000 and was designed to cater for just 100,000 passengers a year.
Dublin airport opening January 19 1940 – Locations considered before Collinstown was picked
Dublin airport opening January 19 1940 – the big day
Dublin airport opening January 19 1940 – Aer Lingus dilemma
Air travel was the preserve of the wealthy during this period and many Dubliners would have travelled to the airport simply as a treat to see the aircraft. The terminal building also boasted one of Dublin’s best restaurants, the Collar of Gold, which was hugely popular and not only for those travelling.
As Dublin Airport’s route network grew and its passenger numbers expanded it, it became clear that the original terminal building had far exceeded its capacity.
The North Terminal opened in 1959 and was used to process arriving passengers, while the old terminal remained for in place for departing passengers.
By 1963, Dublin Airport had grown to one million passengers per year and additional facilities were again required. New boarding gate areas were added in the 1960s and work on a new terminal building began in 1969. The new terminal building, now known as Terminal 1, opened in 1972 and was originally designed to cater for six million passengers per year.
In November 1985, the Government approved the construction of a new runway at Dublin Airport, together with new taxiways, and a new air traffic control building. The new runway 10/28 officially opened for flights on June 21, 1989. That year, more than fivem passengers used Dublin Airport
Passenger numbers increased to 5.8m in 1992 and following 17 consecutive years of growth, reached 23.5m in 2008.
Investment programme 2007
Facilities had not kept pace with the passenger growth and between 2007 and 2010 Dublin Airport embarked on a major investment programme to transform the airport by significantly increasing capacity and dramatically improving the passenger experience.
This programme delivered Terminal 2, two new boarding gate areas (the 100 gates and the 400 gates), a new road network, and a host of other major improvements. The new award-winning new terminal was opened in November 2010.
In 2022, following three years of construction, disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and an investment by daa of €320m, the airport’s new North Runway commenced operations on August 24 with the 12.00 departure of Ryanair flight FR1964 to Eindhoven.
Dublin Airport has hosted many dignitaries and special homecomings during its 80-year history. It has welcomed eight US Presidents, two Popes, the return of many Irish Olympic medal winners, a host of Eurovision winners, the men’s and women’s Irish football teams returning from World Cups and European Championships, as well as the Irish rugby team and the Grand Slam trophy on multiple occasions.
Dublin Airport shared: we will be posting 85th birthday related content on its award-winning social media channels using the hashtag #DUB85 throughout the year and we encourage passengers to share their fond memories of Dublin Airport with us.
Dublin Airport: How time flies
- 1936 Irish Government announces plans for a civilian airport at Collinstown
- 1938 Work begins on the “new” original terminal building
- 1940 Dublin Airport opens on January 19 with a flight to Liverpool Speke Airport
- 1945 First Dublin Airport-London service begins to Croydon Airport
- 1947 KLM starts Dublin-Manchester-Amsterdam service
- 1948 Completion of concrete runways
- 1949 Passenger numbers reach 200,000 per year
- 1958 First scheduled transatlantic service as passenger numbers top 500,000 per year
- 1959 North Terminal opens
- 1963 Passenger numbers top 1m for the first time
- 1972 Terminal 1 opens
- 1989 Passenger numbers reach 5m
- 1990 Celebrates 50th birthday
- 1997 Welcomes more than 10m passengers
- 2008 Passenger numbers reach a record 23.5m
- 2010 Terminal 2 opens
- 2014 Welcomes 21.7m passengers
- 2015 Celebrates 75th anniversary
- 2016 Passenger numbers pass 30m for the first time
- 2019 Work starts on the new North Runway
- 2020 Dublin Airport celebrates 80th anniversary
- 2022 The new €320m North Runway opens on-time and on-budget
- 2023 A planning application – the biggest ever in State – is submitted to allow passenger numbers to grow to 40m
- 2024 Passenger demand hits an all-time high, with 33.3m passengers passing through the airport’s two terminals
- 2025 Celebrates its 85th anniversary
