Dublin Airport ready for its busiest ever Christmas

Dublin Airport is looking forward to its busiest ever Christmas this year with around 1.8 million passengers set to pass through the airport’s terminals over the busy festive period.

Numbers travelling this year are likely to be up by around 22% (c.330,000 passengers) compared to the same period last year with an average of 96,000 passengers expected each day over the 19-day period between December 18 and January 5.

The seven days leading up to Christmas will see around 350,000 passengers arriving at Dublin Airport and they’ll be welcomed by Dublin Airport’s biggest ever festive entertainment programme with dozens of local choirs and top musical acts lined up to perform in the terminals.

As always, Dublin Airport will close on Christmas Day – the only day of the year it closes – to give staff a well-earned day off with their loved ones. However, a skeleton team will remain on duty that day including the airport’s Fire and Rescue and Airport Police.

“Christmas is a magical time at Dublin Airport and we can’t wait to welcome the record numbers that will be travelling this year. Our arrivals halls will once again be filled with emotion as families and loved ones reunite for the festive period,” noted daa’s head of media relations, Graeme McQueen.

“We want to make it extra special for those arriving into Ireland for Christmas, so the team have pulled out all of the stops to make the terminals extra-Christmassy and to put together a festive programme of entertainment that will run right up until Christmas Eve.

Starting from this Wednesday (December 10), more than 40 schools, choirs, and local acts will perform on specially installed Christmas stages in the arrivals halls in both terminals, culminating on Christmas Eve, with a very special performance by the Dublin Gospel Choir.

The annual “blessing of the planes” at Dublin Airport will also take place in the run up to Christmas, which will be open to all faiths wishing to attend.