The following table shows 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 passenger traffic statistics for the three largest airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

s in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, ranked by total passenger traffic each year. The data also shows total aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 movements at each airport based on statistics published by the Irish Aviation Authority

Irish Aviation Authority

The Irish Aviation Authority is a commercial semi state company employing approximately 700 people at six locations around Ireland. The IAA has two main functions; the provision of air traffic management & related services in Irish controlled airspace and the safety regulation of the civil...

.

Dublin serves as the largest airport in Ireland, and in 2010 was the 23rd busiest airport in Europe. Ireland has three main airports - Cork, Dublin

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...

, and Shannon

Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...

. There are also regional airports at Donegal

Donegal Airport

Donegal Airport is located south-west of An Bun Beag , being located at Carrickfinn, a townland in The Rosses, a district in north-west County Donegal, Ireland. The small airport is located right on the county's north-west coast. It is about a 15 minute drive from Dungloe and Gweedore and 45...

, Galway

Galway Airport

Galway Airport is located at Carnmore, north of Galway City, County Galway, Ireland and is managed by Corrib Airport Limited.On 31 October 2011 the airport's sole remaining operator Aer Arann ceased commercial operations at the airport...

, Knock

Ireland West Airport Knock

-Ground transport:BusBus Éireann currently provide services from the Airport on the Derry-Sligo-Galway and Galway-Sligo-Derry Route 64, Ireland West Airport Knock - Castlebar - Westport - Achill Island route 440, Dublin - Athlone - Ireland West Airport Knock - Westport route 21, and connects with...

, Kerry

Kerry Airport

-Ground transportation:Kerry Airport is approximately from both Cork and Limerick. Iarnród Éireann's Farranfore railway station is located to the south with services to Killarney, Tralee, Cork and Dublin....

, Sligo

Sligo Airport

Sligo Airport is located in Strandhill, County Sligo, west of Sligo in Ireland. The airport is a small regional airport and has no scheduled routes.-Introduction:...

 and Waterford

Waterford Airport

Waterford Airport , is south-east of Waterford. It is in Killowen near Waterford City serving the south-east of Ireland. The airport is operated by Waterford Regional Airport Plc. In 2009 112,000 passengers passed through the airport...

.

Many airlines serve Ireland with Aer Arann

Aer Arann

Aer Arann is a regional airline based in Dublin, Ireland. Aer Arann operates scheduled services from Ireland and the Isle of Man to destinations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, with a fleet of 18 aircraft. Aer Arann has expanded from a single aircraft to Ireland's third largest airline...

, Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

, Aer Lingus Regional

Aer Lingus Regional

Aer Lingus Regional is an Aer Lingus brand used for commuter and regional flights operated by Aer Arann on behalf of Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus Regional operates scheduled passenger services primarily from Ireland to the UK, France and the Channel Islands...

 and Ryanair

Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....

 having a significant presence at Irish Airports.

Ireland is well connected with Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 mainly through Dublin and Cork Airports. The United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 is the most flown to country from Ireland.

2009 / 2010 data

Rank 2010	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total Passengers 2009	Total Passengers 2010	Passengers Change 2009/10	Aircraft movements 2010
1	Dublin Airport Dublin Airport Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...	Dublin	DUB/EIDW	20,503,677	18,431,265	10.1%	160,324
2	Cork Airport	Cork Cork (city) Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...	ORK/EICK	2,769,048	2,425,131	12.4%	48,289
3	Shannon Airport Shannon Airport Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...	Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the... /Shannon Shannon, County Clare Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....	SNN/EINN	2,794,563	1,756,007	37.2%	27,359
TOTAL				26,067,288	22,612,403	13.3%	235,972

2008 / 2009 data

Rank 2009	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total Passengers 2008	Total Passengers 2009	Passengers Change 2008/09	Aircraft movements 2009
1	Dublin Airport Dublin Airport Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...	Dublin	DUB/EIDW	23,466,711	20,503,677	12.6%	176,801
2	Shannon Airport Shannon Airport Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...	Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the... /Shannon Shannon, County Clare Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....	SNN/EINN	3,169,529	2,794,563	11.8%	34,936
3	Cork Airport	Cork Cork (city) Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...	ORK/EICK	3,258,639	2,769,048	15.0%	52,769
TOTAL				29,894,879	26,067,288	12.8%	264,506

2007 / 2008 data

Rank 2008	Airport	Location	Code (IATA/ICAO)	Total Passengers 2007	Total Passengers 2008	Passengers Change 2007/08	Aircraft movements 2008
1	Dublin Airport Dublin Airport Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...	Dublin	DUB/EIDW	23,287,438	23,466,711	0.8%	196,058
2	Cork Airport	Cork Cork (city) Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...	ORK/EICK	3,180,259	3,258,639	2.5%	36,140
3	Shannon Airport Shannon Airport Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...	Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the... /Shannon Shannon, County Clare Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....	SNN/EINN	3,620,623	3,169,529	12.5%	35,630
TOTAL				30,088,320	29,894,879	0.6%	267,828

See also

• World's busiest airports by traffic movements
  World's busiest airports by traffic movements
  The thirty world's busiest airports by aircraft movements are measured by total movements . One total movement is a landing or take off of an aircraft.- 2010 final statistics :-2009 final statistics:...
  
  
• World's busiest airports by passenger traffic
  World's busiest airports by passenger traffic
  The world's busiest airports by passenger traffic are measured by number of total passengers . One passenger is described as someone who arrives in, departs from, or transfers through the airport on a given day...
  
  
• World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic
  World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic
  The following is a list of the world's busiest airports by international passenger traffic.London Heathrow has been the busiest since 2000-2010 year-to-date statistics:Airports Council International's year-to-date figures are as follows....
  
  
• World's largest airlines
• List of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic
• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
• Busiest airports in France by total passenger traffic
  Busiest airports in France by total passenger traffic
  - List of Airports from 2007 and 2008:Source : http://www.aeroport.fr/fichiers/stats_2007.pdf-See also:*World's busiest airports by passenger traffic*Busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic*List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries...
  
  
• Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic
  Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic
  The tables below contain CAA data from 2006 to 2009, on the busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, including information on international, domestic and transit counterparts...