Shannon Airport say Christmas is set to get even better with passenger numbers over the festive season to increase by 5% on last year.

Over 70,000 passengers are expected to use the airport from this weekend through to the New Year.

That is up from 66,500 last year.

In a statement, the airport says: "This is the fourth successive since Shannon received its independence that it has achieved Christmas season growth.

"It adds to the positivity already generated in the run up to the holidays by confirmation that Norwegian Air International is to establish services from Shannon to North America after receiving its transatlantic permit from the US Department of Transport."

Shannon also recently won the 'Airport Achievement' accolade at the Aviation Industry Awards in Dublin.

The airport's CEO, Matthew Thomas, said: "Airports are a special place at Christmas and we’re even happier this year as there are more passengers coming through than any year since Shannon achieved independence.

"There’s probably no place better to get the real magic of Christmas than an airport.

"You see all the emotion of people coming back, being greeted by family and friends. It’s a really special time."

It comes as the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) say airports here will handle a recording-breaking 1.1 million flights this year.