Passenger growth at Dublin Airport was more than three times the European average

The number of passengers using Dublin Airport during the month was up 16.7% - compared with 5% average growth across all of Europe.

Passenger growth at Dublin Airport was more than three times the European average in February, according to the latest monthly figures from ACI Europe.

The number of passengers using Dublin Airport during the month was up 16.7% - compared with 5% average growth across all of Europe.

Dublin’s growth rate was over two and a half times what ACI Europe described as the “healthy” 6.2% average increase across airports within the EU.

The ACI Europe figures for February coincide with new March figures from Dublin Airport showing a further 19% increase in traffic compared to March last year.

The organisation said higher February volumes at EU airports were driven in particular by double digit growth in Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Hungary and Lithuania.

But it said that, in a continued reversal of fortune, airports elsewhere in Europe posted a much lower rate of passenger traffic growth at 1.3%.

ACI Europe said this was mainly due to traffic losses in Ukraine and Russia, as well as the impact of severe weather conditions in parts of Turkey.

Said the organisation’s Director General , Olivier Jankovec: “EU passenger traffic keeps outperforming weak economic growth, building upon last year’s dynamic trend.

“The outlook is now getting even brighter, as lower oil prices, the ECB’s Quantitative Easing policy and improving consumer confidence should all help further support demand for air travel in the coming months.

“Conversely, Russian airports are generally seeing a sharp decrease in passenger traffic – with the country entering recession this year for the first time since 2009 and international sanctions taking their toll. This situation is affecting the passenger traffic performance of other European airports that are particularly exposed to Russian demand.”

ACI Europe said freight traffic – which it described as “an established bellwether of economic performance” – was up 2.4% in February.

Among the largest EU airports, the biggest February growth was seen at Madrid (+12.0%), Rome FCO (+9.1%), London LGW (+7.1%), Antalya (+5.4%), and Amsterdam (+4.9%).

Among airports in the 5-25 million passenger category, the highest February growth was recorded at Athens (+24.7%), London STN (+24.6%), Brussels (+18.5%), Lisbon (+17.9%) and Dublin (+16.7%).