The DAA has released its financial results for 2013 which showed that overall passenger numbers at Dublin and Cork airports increased by 5% to 22.4 million last year.
“The double digit increases we have had in transatlantic connectivity over the past two years mean that for the first time Dublin Airport is in the top tier of European airports when it comes to flights to North America,” Mr Toland said.
“Last year, Dublin Airport handled more than half a million transfer passengers and we plan to grow transfer traffic to about two million passengers per year in the near term.”
Mr Toland was speaking as DAA released its financial results for 2013, which showed that overall passenger numbers at Dublin and Cork airports increased by 5% to 22.4 million last year.
Core profits last year declined by 7% to €26m even though there were higher passesnger numbers at its Irish airports.
This slide from DAA presentation shows how important @Ryanair is to the Irish tourism market. pic.twitter.com/hF5Csxq7wp
— Ian Guider (@ianguider) May 7, 2014
"This summer, Dublin Airport will be the seventh largest airport in Europe for services to North America, with 268 flights per week between the airport and 13 separate destinations in the United States and Canada.”
Debt levels were reduced by €61 million during the year, which was equivalent to a 9% reduction. DAA has reduced its net debt by €151 million since 2010, with net debt at €614 million at year end.
Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increased by almost 6% to 20.2 million last year, as 70% of the airlines operating at Dublin experienced traffic growth.
“Dublin Airport had more than one million extra passengers last year, as all segments of the market expanded,” according to Mr Toland. “Long-haul traffic was Dublin’s best performer last year, with transatlantic passenger numbers up 13% to a record 1.9 million and traffic to the Middle East also up 13%, albeit off a much lower base.”
With regards to this year the DAA has had a good start to 2014 in passenger terms, with overall passenger numbers up by more than 3% in the first quarter of this year and traffic at Dublin Airport up by 5%.
