22 July 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork Airport, the country’s second-largest international airport has released its traffic figures for the first half of the year which reveal the impact of COVID-19 is expected to be the loss of 2 million passengers and more than €23 million in lost revenues by year-end.
Before the impact of COVID-19, Cork Airport was the fastest growing airport in Ireland in 2019 with 8% growth and it had witnessed further growth of 6% in January and February this year. Since COVID-19, passenger numbers have declined by 95% versus the same period last year.
At the half-year and taking account of a positive first two months, Cork Airport passenger traffic is down by 799,000 passengers and down by 66% versus the same period last year.
Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport commented “The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating on the world and Irish aviation sector not least Cork Airport. We now expect passenger numbers to decline by almost 2 million passengers in comparison to what we forecast for 2020. In that context, Cork Airport strongly welcomes the Taskforce for Aviation Recovery Report published recently and we look forward to engaging with the Department of Transport in its implementation. An appropriate financial support mechanism is now critical to support the recovery of Irish Aviation in tandem with the policy recommendations”.
“Cork Airport has been dramatically impacted in lost revenues at the half-year and the impact is likely to be more than €23 million for the full year. Hospitality, Tourism and Aviation are amongst the three sectors most affected by this terrible pandemic and our passenger numbers at the half-year reflect this reality”, he added.
