A total of 8.3 million passengers passed through Irish airports in 2020, a decrease of 78% compared with 2019, new CSO statistics show.

Air passenger data shows a substantial fall in passengers handled by Irish airports due to COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 8.3 million passengers passed through Irish airports in 2020, a decrease of 78% compared with 2019.

The CSO Transport Omnibus 2020 presents a comprehensive picture of transport activity in Ireland and shows the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the transport sector.

Compared with 2019, the number of driving tests conducted in 2020 decreased by 53%.

The number of new cars licensed for the first time in 2020 fell by 28,996 vehicles or 26% compared with 2019.

Decrease

The publication also shows that COVID-19 travel restrictions are reflected in a decrease in kilometres Irish licensed vehicles travelled.

In 2020, Irish licensed vehicles travelled, on average, 12,723 kilometres, a decrease of 25% compared with 2019.

Statistician Nele van der Wielen said: “The results in this publication reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation.

“The overall amount of road freight activity was 11.4 billion tonne-kilometres in 2020, a decrease of 8% compared with 2019.

“In 2020, a total of 11,855 trading vessels (of 100 gross tonnes or more) arrived in Irish ports, a decrease of 9% compared with 2019.”

Of the new private cars licensed for the first time in 2020, 94% were in either the A or B CO2 emission bands.

Penalty points

During 2020, a total of 198,589 penalty point endorsement notices was issued, an increase of 4% on the previous year.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of all penalty point endorsement notices issued in 2020 were for speeding. This compares with 64% in 2019.

Private cars accounted for more than 77% of the total number of licensed vehicles and 72% of the total distance travelled in 2020. On average, each private car travelled 11,803 kilometres in 2020, a decrease of 28% compared with 2019.