Passenger Numbers Up 5% in December at Cork Airport

Passenger Numbers through Cork Airport in December were up 5% on 2011 figures, its strongest performance in 2012. Ryanair’s new Polish routes drove a 20% growth on European services. This was complemented by a 1% growth on UK-Provincial traffic. Cork Airport’s passenger traffic for the full year stood at 2.34 million, down less than 1% versus 2011. Cork Airport enjoyed a positive overall performance in the fourth quarter of 2012 as the negative impact of the domestic business lost in October 2011 when Ryanair ended the Dublin-Cork route was eliminated. Cork Airport’s European traffic performed consistently well over 2012, with ten out of twelve months showing positive growth on traffic to and from the Continent. Niall MacCarthy, Airport Director commented, “December was a very encouraging month of strong growth in passenger numbers at Cork Airport and this has continued into the first week of the New Year. The advent of additional routes to and from Poland and Lithuania in November has contributed significantly to the growth being experienced on our international route network out of Cork. We plan to return to modest overall growth in passenger numbers in 2013 driven by new routes and the Gathering representing the first growth since the start of the recession in 2008”, he added.