Dublin Airport recorded its busiest year ever in 2025, with a total of 36.43 million passengers travelling through the airport, according to figures released on January 16, 2026. The final tally represents a 5.1% increase on 2024, underlining sustained demand for air travel through Ireland’s main international gateway.
The record-breaking year also saw a sharp rise in peak-day volumes. On 215 days during 2025, more than 100,000 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 25% compared with the previous year. December was particularly strong, with 2.7 million passengers, up 13% year-on-year. The airport’s busiest single day on record occurred on Sunday, August 10, when 130,427 passengers travelled through its terminals.
Of the overall total, 1.7 million were transfer passengers, a slight 3% decrease on 2024. Despite the higher volumes, passenger satisfaction scores improved throughout the year, reaching all-time highs, according to independent surveys.
Dublin Airport Managing Director Gary McLean said the results reflected the efforts of staff during an unprecedented period of demand. “Maintaining standards at such consistently high levels during the busiest year in our 85-year history is testament to the commitment and hard work of the Dublin Airport team,” he said.
Mr McLean noted that operational performance remained strong, with 97% of passengers clearing security in under 20 minutes, helped by the rollout of new security scanning technology across both terminals. “The airport operation ran smoothly throughout the year,” he added.
He highlighted how dramatically daily passenger numbers have grown over the past decade. “Go back 10 years and Dublin Airport had never handled more than 100,000 passengers in a single day. Fast forward to 2025 and three out of every five days saw 100,000-plus passengers moving through our terminals,” he said.
Transatlantic travel was a particular growth area in 2025. More than 2 million passengers passed through the US pre-clearance facility in Terminal 2 over a 12-month period for the first time ever, reflecting strong demand for North American routes.
Looking ahead, Mr McLean said the airport has the capacity to handle further growth but warned that new infrastructure is essential. “It is essential that we soon start building new gates, stands and other infrastructure to meet the demand coming over the coming decades,” he said, adding that removal of the passenger cap would be critical to enabling that expansion.
