More than 36 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport last year, setting a new record but breaching a 32 million limit that is the focus of ongoing legal action.
Airport operator DAA said on Friday that the country’s biggest airport handled 36.43 million people in 2025, making it Dublin’s busiest year.
The news comes as litigation and formal complaints from airlines look set to bring to a head the row over a 32 million passenger cap imposed by planners 19 years ago.
DAA flagged that passenger numbers at Dublin would break the 36 million barrier through last year as traffic increased to new levels.
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The State company said that more than 100,000 people used the gateway on 215 separate days through 2025.
Dublin Airport managing director Gary McLean observed that up to 10 years ago, it never handled more than 100,000 passengers in a single day.
“Fast forward to 2025 and three out of every five days saw 100,000-plus passengers moving through our terminals, while we also recorded our busiest ever day on Sunday, July 29th, when 129,000 passengers went through,” he said.
The airport company maintains that independently measured passenger satisfaction scores increased to all-time highs last year.
Mr McLean noted that this was a testament to Dublin Airport staff.
The airport facilitated 255,000 flights last year, an average of more than 700 a day and 5 per cent more than in 2024.
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The High Court suspended implementation of the passenger cap in December 2024 when it referred several questions posed by a legal challenge by airlines to the European courts for an answer.
Advocate general Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona will give a non-binding opinion on those questions next month, indicating the Court of Justice or the EU’s likely final ruling.
Airlines believe that efforts to enforce the cap breach European law.
US airlines have formally complained to their country’s department of transportation, saying the planning condition discriminates against them.
