Ireland was the fifth largest market in Europe for air travel to Australia and New Zealand in 2013, according to Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). Speaking to The HUB Daily at Routes Asia in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, DAA ‘s Airline Business Development Manager Daragh Hanratty said that traffic between Ireland and Australasia is booming.

“We have seen huge growth in traffic to Australia and New Zealand, as passenger numbers have increased by 30 per cent since 2009,” he explained.

Ireland has more traffic to Australia and New Zealand than much larger nations such as the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and Greece. The growth in capacity from Middle Eastern carriers such as Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines over the past four years has helped expand traffic to Australia and New Zealand and Dublin Airport has also seen additional capacity from Turkish Airlines and to the major European hubs.

The past four years has also seen O&D traffic from Dublin to the United Arab Emirates increase by 250 per cent between 2009 and 2013 to 97,000 passengers. “Dublin has been an incredibly successful location for both Etihad and Emirates, with both airlines planning to go double daily on their Dublin services later this year,” said Hanratty.

Hanratty revealed that Bangkok is Dublin Airport’s largest unserved Asian market with 57,000 passengers in 2013. Also noteworthy is the news that volumes from Dublin to Tokyo have increased by 30 per cent over the past four years to a sizeabale market of 22,000 passengers.