The number of passengers flying through Carrickfin Airport in Co Donegal is set to reach record levels this year. Just under 24,000 people have flown through the airport this year - representing a 53 per cent increase on last year.
Donegal's good run in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship has also boosted numbers.
"This Sunday's morning flight was sold out within 15 minutes of the semi-final date being announced. We could have filled four flights," commented an airport spokeswoman. Donegal play Armagh in the semi-final at Croke Park tomorrow.
Aer Arran currently operates two daily return flights to Dublin from Carrickfin. There are also three weekly charter flights from Aberdeen for workers on a Statoil oil rig off the Mayo coast.
They make the final leg of their journey from Carrickfin to the oil rig by helicopter.
According to the latest figures, the number of passengers using the airport last year was 19,024.
The target for this year was 25,000 passengers an increase of 31 per cent, driven by the addition of a second daily flight to Dublin.
Up until yesterday 18,616 people had flown on the Dublin route - an increase of 45 per cent on the corresponding period last year, despite the fact that there was a six week period at the start of the year when no Dublin services operated. This was due to the demise of EuroCeltic Airways. Aer Arran was later awarded the Public Service Obligation contract to operate the government-subsidised route.