The Dublin Airport Authority has announced the expected passenger increases due to the addition of an extra eight routes departing from Dublin this year. Added flights on existing routes will further boost the airport's footfall during the busy summer months.

The transatlantic market will see the biggest expansion, with 200,000 extra seats due to be added. American Airlines are planning to start a new daily route to New York JFK in June. A total of 224 flights will depart from Dublin towards North American destinations every week this summer.

DAA's Chief Operations Officer Robert Hilliard says that "North America is a key market for Ireland, as we are the largest recipient of US foreign direct investment and Irish firms are huge investors in the US. Both the United States and Canada are also important sources of inbound tourism so it’s also pleasing to see a strong growth in seat numbers from North America in 2013 as we celebrate The Gathering,”

International routes

Other new additions will include routes to European cities such as Oxford, Helsinki and Bremen. Ethiad Airways will increase the capacity of their flights to Abu Dhabi by over a third from July. Overall, more than thirty routes will see capacity increases.

Just under 4 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport between January and March 2013. 2012 saw a passenger increase of 4% compared to the previous years for a total of 19.1 million people, including a 16% increase in long-haul traffic. DAA and other authorities will be hoping for more increases in 2013, especially in light of major tourism initiatives such as The Gathering.