The rise means last month was the busiest February in the airport’s 86-year history, highlighting continued strong demand for travel through Ireland’s main aviation gateway, DAA said.
The strong growth comes as the airport continues to push for the removal of the current annual 32-million passenger cap, arguing that the limit is restricting its ability to meet rising demand.
February’s increase follows a strong start to the year after January passenger numbers rose by 13.8pc, with Dublin Airport recently ranked as the fastest-growing airport of its size in Europe, among airports handling between 25 million and 40 million passengers annually.
Passenger flows during February were boosted by several busy travel periods, including the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend, school mid-term breaks and Six Nations rugby fixtures, which drove both inbound and outbound tourism, the report said.
Dublin Airport managing director Gary McLean said the figures reflect the continued strength of demand for international travel through Ireland’s largest airport.
“February was another strong month for Dublin Airport, with passenger numbers up almost 10pc year-on-year as demand for travel continues to grow,” he said.
The airport said the growth underlines why it believes the permanent removal of the passenger cap is necessary to allow it to expand capacity and meet increasing travel demand.
The airport said the majority of passengers cleared security quickly during February
DAA is currently working with the Government and other stakeholders on legislative changes aimed at addressing the cap, it said.
The operator said it is also progressing an infrastructure application that would allow the airport to build additional piers and aircraft stands to accommodate higher passenger numbers in the future.
Operationally, the airport said the majority of passengers cleared security quickly during February, while early morning departures recorded strong on-time performance despite several busy travel periods.
The most popular destinations during the month included London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Manchester, London Gatwick and London Stansted, the report said.
The operator said passenger numbers in March could face some disruption due to ongoing issues in the Middle East, which have already resulted in the cancellation of around 80 flights in the last week, affecting about 30,000 passengers so far.
However, it said the coming weeks are still expected to be busy due to St Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Cheltenham racing festival and the last Six Nations fixtures in Dublin, which take place during the month.
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