Cork Airport is ready to welcome back passengers as Irish restrictions on international travel for non-essential reasons are lifted today.

“Today is a hugely exciting and much anticipated day as Ireland fully- re-opens for international travel. Our Operational Readiness Team, encompassing every department across both airports, has been planning extensively for this day so that all our customers have as safe and as pleasant an experience when travelling through our airports,” said daa Chief Executive Dalton Philips.

“The global pandemic has taken an enormous toll and people are looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends overseas who they haven’t seen for almost a year and a half. We have been waiting patiently for international travel to resume and it is wonderful to see customers coming through the doors of our terminals again for leisure and business travel,” he added.

“There is a great buzz and air of excited anticipation at our airports.  We have missed our passengers; our airlines have missed them and our business partners have missed them. Today represents the start of Ireland’s re-connection with the world and we will play our part by building our business back better and stronger,” said Mr. Phillips .

daa, the operator of Cork and Dublin Airports - the two largest airports in the State - has kept both airports open throughout the pandemic and they have played a critical role in facilitating the import and export of essential medical supplies and goods.

COVID-19 has had a crippling effect on every aspect of the travel and tourism sector.  “Cork and Dublin Airports have experienced a loss of over 43 million passengers in the past 16 months,” Mr. Phillips said “We are working tirelessly to restore the vital connectivity that Ireland has lost during that time. The Irish economy, which is one of the most open in the world, is hugely dependent on international air connectivity for trade, tourism and foreign direct investment.”

daa invested significantly in a range of health and well-being measures across both Cork and Dublin Airports at the start of the pandemic to ensure the safety and wellbeing  of passengers and staff. These include more than 1,000 hand sanitisation stations, almost 1,000 plexiglass screen at check-in and security screening locations, over 12,000 new signs erected to emphasise social distancing and hand hygiene, regular announcements to remind people of guidelines, enhanced cleaning regimes throughout the terminals and campus and a contactless airport environment. Access to the terminals is limited to passengers, crew members and staff.

Passengers flying from Cork Airport can choose from six airlines flying directly to a total of 20 Continental European and UK destinations.

Passengers are advised to check country specific entry requirements on the Irish Government’s websites: gov.ie and dfa.ie and consult corkairport.com before making travel plans.