The number of passengers passing through Dublin airport exceeded two million for the first time ever in May, the Dublin Airport Authority said today.
An average of 4,200 passengers a day used the airport in May, representing an additional 131,000 over the month, or an increase of 7 per cent on May 2006.
Passenger traffic to and from continental Europe rose by 14 per cent with more than one million passengers travelling there in May.
UK traffic recorded a slight decrease with more than 729,000 passengers.
More than 74,000 passengers travelled on domestic routes to and from Dublin airport, a 3 per cent increase over the same month last year, while passenger volumes to and from North America also recorded a slight decline with 115,000 passengers travelling to the United States in May.
Other international passenger traffic to the Middle-East (Dubai and Bahrain), northern Africa (Sharm El Sheik) and South Africa (Capetown) rose by 6 per cent with almost 15,000 passengers travelling to those destinations in May.
More than 8,000 transit passengers travelled through Dublin airport to an onward destination in May, a 2 per cent decrease when compared with last year.
More than 8.6 million passengers travelled through Dublin airport between January to May, an 11 per cent increase over the same period last year.