Traffic Movements for August 2010
Enroute traffic movements in Irish controlled airspace for the Month of August 2010 again show an increase of +3.5% on comparable traffic figures for August 2009. This continues a positive trend with enroute traffic movements showing growth of +5.1% in March 2010, +1.6% in June 2010 and +5.9% in July 2010.
This trend of continued growth has also been mirrored in the analysis of North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe /US Flights) , which saw growth of +1% in March, +0.8% in June, +1.3% in July and +0.8% in August 2010.
Both enroute overflights and North Atlantic Communications Flights could have seen positive growth for the first eight months of 2010, if the eruption of the Icelandic Volcano and subsequent effects had not occurred. The resulting impact on these traffic figures showed a decrease of between -10% to -15% in April and May 2010.
Consequently, the comparisons between January to August 2010 and the corresponding period in 2009, are as follows:
- En-route traffic movements were down cumulatively by -1.4%
- North Atlantic Communication flights were down cumulatively by -3.6%
While commercial terminal traffic at the airports continues to decline against comparable figures in 2009, the rate of decline during 2010 has continued to recede.
1. The traffic growth rates for the three State airports, in August 2010, are as follows:
- Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down by -1.1%
- Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -5.2%
- Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -31.6%
However, for the eight month period, January to August 2010, compared to 2009:
- Commercial terminal flights at Dublin were down -11.4%
- Commercial terminal flights at Cork were down -9.7%
- Commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down -41.3%
The latest available traffic forecast from EUROCONTROL estimate that European traffic will experience a growth rate of +0.8% for 2010, however, this forecast will be revised in September 2010, when more information is available.