Guinness and Tayto among top sellers at Dublin Airport
Also Dominic Into 19,000 Items Which Mcgrath/pa Photo: 56% Their Of Were Owners Were To Returned 2024 Lost File And During Handed Dublin Airport's Found Almost
Guinness, Tayto, and Toblerone were all among the biggest sellers at Dublin Airport during 2024 during what is expected to be the busiest year on record for the airport, its operator daa has said.
Dublin Airport has experienced a record year in 2024, with each of the first 11 months of the year seeing record numbers going through its terminals. More than 171 days this year have seen more than 100,000 passengers move through the airport.
Daa will release final end-of-year passenger numbers in January.
According to daa, cafes across the campus served more than 2.5 million cups of tea and coffee over the year. The bars in Dublin Airport were also busy, selling more than 1.5 million pints of Guinness this year to passengers.
In terms of snacks, Tayto was the most popular crisp at the airport with over half a million packets sold. When it comes to chocolate, the airport staple Toblerone is the out-and-out favourite among passengers with 72 tonnes sold over the year.
One of the most popular meals for Dublin Airport passengers was the full Irish breakfast with daa estimating that on average one was consumed every minute during 2024.
Media relations manager at daa, Graeme McQueen, said it has been a busy year at the airport and "we're delighted to see our passenger satisfaction ratings at an all-time high following the rollout of a string of improvements in the terminals over the past 12 months”.
In addition to the retail figures, daa also released data on lost items at Dublin Airport which included 550 wedding and engagement rings which were handed into the airport's lost and found department during the course of 2024.
More than 100 of those rings remain unclaimed, including many engagement rings. Mr McQueen added that there were a number of “very random” items left behind at the terminals this year with one passenger leaving behind a golf bag with a full set of clubs.
“We thought they'd possibly just had a bad round and decided to ditch the game, but alas they swung back to the airport a few days later to collect them,” he said.
Almost 19,000 items were handed in to the airport's lost and found department in 2024, with more than half of the items handed in, 56%, returned to the owner.
The item most commonly lost in the terminals and surrounding campus was luggage with more than 2,300 bags handed in. More than 1,000 mobile phones were also recovered, as well as 750 sets of keys.
Another commonly misplaced item in the airport during 2024 were laptops, with more than 550 recovered this year.
In terms of passenger numbers this year, Dublin Airport is expecting to see an increase when compared to 2023. However, this increase will lead to it breaching its passenger limit of 32 million passengers a year.
Daa are seeking an increase to the passenger limit from Fingal County Council but this could take years to be approved.
A cohort of airlines have taken a court challenge against the Irish Aviation Authority’s decision to limit seats flying to and from Dublin Airport next summer due to this passenger limit. The case has been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.