The number of people flying between Dublin and Kerry quadrupled between August 2021 and the same month last year. 

Kerry Airport, which is located in Farranfore between Tralee and Killarney, has multiple flights everyday to the capital. 

On The Pat Kenny, Aer Lingus Regional founder Padraig Ó Céidigh said the figures are a reflection of the fact that Kerry is “by far the most popular destination” for Irish people looking to take a domestic holiday. 

“It’s less hassle to fly; Kerry Airport’s a very, very easy airport to get in and out of,” he said. 

“So, there are more and more people looking at doing that as a realistic option - particularly people who live in Dublin.” 

Mr Ó Céidigh added that unlike larger airports, Kerry Airport is also relatively simple to navigate.  

“Now, I wouldn’t advise this, but people can rock up maybe 15, 20-minutes before the flight time and get on the airplane,” he said. 

“It’s not as easy in Dublin Airport where you’ve got 34, 35 million passengers going through those two terminals every year. 

“So, it’s much more difficult from that point of view.” 

An aeroplane landing on the runway at Dublin Airport. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Although many people use the service to take a quick holiday, Mr Ó Céidigh said it has become an important way for businesses to connect with regional staff. 

“Because of the frequency of the service between Kerry and Dublin, they’d actually bring all their regional managers and fly them up to Dublin in the morning,” he said. 

“They would book a room at one of the hotels in the airport, they’d have a two or three hour meeting and they’d fly them back again and they were in their office for lunchtime.

“You’re getting more and more and more of that.” 

Environmental impact

According to Our World In Data, aviation accounts for 2.5% of all emissions; however, 90% of the world’s population do not fly most years. 

Environmentalists have proposed a ‘frequent flier levy’ to discourage people from taking more than one return flight every year.

Main image: Kerry Airport. Picture by: Alamy.com