Over 70,000 passengers will travel through Cork Airport this Easter holiday weekend as the airport continues its growth trajectory as Ireland’s fastest growing airport this year. Passengers numbers increased by 11% in the first three months and is expected to grow to 2.6 million passengers this year. Thursday, April 18 (Holy Thursday) is expected to be particularly busy for both departures and arrivals.

Managing Director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy said: “We are delighted that this Easter break will see such huge passenger numbers going through our terminal. Earlier this week, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) released positive figures showing the number of flights through Cork Airport was up 9% during the first quarter of 2019, the largest increase of all Irish airports. These strong figures are a testament to the ongoing work being done at Cork Airport to increase passenger numbers through greater route options and connectivity. It’s been an incredibly positive start to the year, for what will be our fourth year of consecutive growth and we are committed to continuing this throughout 2019 and beyond.”

Over 50 routes are on offer over the course of the year from Cork Airport, which includes the new Aer Lingus service to Nice that commences today, Wednesday, April 17. Summer flights to Zurich, Switzerland with SWISS also started today.

Passengers are also availing this Easter of Ryanair’s new twice weekly routes to Poznań, Budapest and Malta, which all kicked off earlier this month. The airline’s new Cork – London Luton service, launched last October, is also running daily.

Further Easter break route options include Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Faro, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Malaga and Paris with Aer Lingus; which also flies to the UK destinations of London Heathrow, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newquay and Southampton. Ryanair is flying to Alicante, Budapest, Faro, Gdansk, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga, Malta, Poznań, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Wroclaw along with Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. Additional routes throughout Easter include Air France to Paris and Flybe to Cardiff, along with long-haul options through the multiple daily flights to major international hubs across Europe.

Passengers travelling during the Easter break are advised to arrive at least 90 minutes before their flight and go directly to the security screening area once checked in. There are changes to Cork Airport’s internal road layout, which includes a new set down lane. Drivers are advised that they can set down for up to 15 minutes free on the forecourt before tariffs apply.