2026 has got off to a flying start at Cork Airport with passenger numbers for January up +4% compared with January 2025. With 203,000 passengers, the growth in passenger traffic showed no signs of abating with strong demand for flights to UK provincial cities, Spanish sun destinations and European ski gateways.  

Escaping to the sun and the slopes 
Growth in passengers travelling to and from Spain was a key highlight for the month with +12% increase in the number of passengers travelling to and from Spain in January. The number of passengers travelling to Germany on weekly ski services was up +11% compared to January 2025.  

Strong UK connections
Passengers travelling between Cork and UK provincial cities also experienced a solid boost during the month of January where passenger traffic increased by 6.3%. Performance was noticeably strong on services to/from Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester where passenger numbers were up by 32%, 13% and 7% respectively. 

Commenting on January passenger traffic, Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport said: “All of our team are delighted to see that the growth continues at Cork Airport in 2026 having recorded our highest passenger numbers ever in 2025. We continue to copper fasten our position as the second largest airport in the Republic of Ireland and our capital investment projects underway lay the foundations for growth to continue up to and beyond 5 million passengers per annum.”