Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by 11.5% in 2016, making Dublin the leading performer among the top tier of European airports.
Dublin Airport grew faster during 2016 than all other European airports that have more than 25 million passengers per annum.
After Dublin in the major airport category came Barcelona’s El-Prat (+11.2%), Amsterdam’s Schiphol (+9.2%), Copenhagen (+9.1%) and Madrid Barajas (+7.7%).
The growth at Dublin Airport delivered a new traffic record at Ireland’s key gateway, with almost 28 million passengers welcomed last year. 
An extra 2.8 million passengers used the airport in 2016, while over the past two years, an additional 6.2 million people passed through Dublin Airport.
“This new ACI data confirms that Dublin Airport had a record-breaking performance at home and abroad last year,” enthuses Dublin Airport's managing director, Vincent Harrison.
“Passenger traffic across the European airport network increased by 5.1% last year, while Dublin Airport increased its traffic by more than twice that amount."
The passenger growth at Dublin Airport was fuelled by the launch of 19 new routes last year, while additional capacity was added on 31 existing services. 
“Almost all our airline customers increased their operations at Dublin in 2016 and we’d like to thank them for their business during the year,” adds Harrison.
“Dublin Airport’s passenger performance in 2016 was also assisted by its growth as a gateway between Europe and North America.
"Transatlantic traffic increased by 16% to a record 2.9 million passengers last year, while transfer passenger numbers were up 23% to a record 1.2 million.”
This year Dublin Airport will welcome three new long-haul services – a year-round service to Doha with Qatar Airlines, a summer service to Boston with Delta Air Lines and a summer service to Miami with Aer Lingus – and three new short-haul services.
Europe’s airports collectively processed more than two billion passengers last year.
