Dublin airport passenger numbers surge to 37.3m in twelve months to the end of May

Dublin Airport processed 3,493,510 passengers in May 2026.
The total marks a 2.9pc rise on May 2025.
The rolling annual figure stands at 37,345,842 passengers.
First five months of 2026 recorded 14.3m passengers.
Travel to North America increased by 13pc year-on-year.

Dublin airport handled 3,493,510 passengers in May 2026, up 2.9pc on May 2025 and 17.9pc on pre-pandemic. Rolling annual was 37,345,842, 7pc ahead of the twelve months to May 2025.

The month saw consistent demand with 28 of the 31 days recording more than 100,000 passengers and eight days exceeding 120,000 travellers. Numbers in the first five months of 2026 totalled 14.3m passengers, up 7pc on the same period in 2025.

Travel between Dublin and North America rose 13pc year-on-year. The most popular destinations for departing passengers included London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Manchester, Malaga and London Gatwick. Summer holiday traffic and football World Cup fans from Europe and ghe middle East contributed to the volumes.

Gary McLean shared “The start of the busy summer season seems to be getting earlier every year, and this was our busiest May on record, with an additional 93,000 passengers using our airport this May compared to the same month last year. Demand to fly in and out of Dublin Airport is very high and we’re expecting passenger numbers to come in around 2pc higher this summer than last year’s record levels.”

Dublin Airport – May 2026 in numbers
Total Passengers	3,493,510 (+2.7% vs May 2025)
Number of flights	24,300
Busiest day through terminals	Sunday 24^th May (127,761 passengers)
Days with 100k+ passengers	28
Through Security in <15 mins	95%
Through security in <20 mins	98%
Through Fast Track in <5 mins	92%
Load Factor	83%
Bag return time (ave. first bag)	7 minutes
On-time departures (first wave)	89.3%
On-time departures (overall)	73.9%
Top 5 most popular destinations	1. London Heathrow
	2. Amsterdam
	3. Manchester
	4. Malaga
	5. London Gatwick