Ireland's Shannon Airport saw a "significant hike" in passenger numbers in January and February 2023, the airport announced, citing data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), a government body.
"In January, the number of people travelling through Shannon Airport was up by 21% compared to January 2019, and was 22% higher when compared to the same period in 2020," the airport said, with February up 17% on 2019 and 12% on 2020.
February 2020 was the last month of travel before Ireland and most other countries imposed lockdowns and de facto travel bans as the coronavirus outbreak was labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
“We are pleased with the increase in passenger numbers at Shannon Airport throughout January and February this year compared with pre pandemic figures," said Mary Considine, chief executive of the Shannon Airport Group, who added she expected a "busy summer with 33 destinations to 11 countries on offer from Shannon across the US, UK, and Europe".