Dublin Airport, (Irish: Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath) (IATA: DUB, ICAO: EIDW), is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland and is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. It is located in Collinstown, near Swords, in the county of Fingal, Ireland. In 2011, 18.7 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the busiest of the state's airports by total passenger traffic, followed by Cork Airport and Shannon Airport. It also has the greatest traffic levels on the island of Ireland followed by Belfast International Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport, Cork and Shannon.
The airport is located 5.4 NM (10.0 km; 6.2 mi) north of Dublin city in a once-rural area near Swords. It is served by buses and taxis. Plans to connect the airport to Swords and Dublin city centre via a rapid transit line (Metro North), have been postponed by the Government.
Dublin Airport is the headquarters of Ireland's flag carrier (Aer Lingus), Europe's largest low-cost carrier (Ryanair) and Ireland's regional airline (Aer Arann). Ireland's fourth airline, CityJet, operates flights from the airport and its HQ is located in the nearby town of Swords.
The airport has an extensive short and medium haul network, served by an array of carriers. Domestic services are offered to some regional Irish airports. There are approximately 50 daily departures from Dublin to all six London airports. Dublin is also 1 of only 4 airports in the world to service all six London Airports:(Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Heathrow, London City and Southend). There are over 40 daily departures to other UK Airports. There is also a reasonably sized long-haul network. Aer Lingus serves many popular US destinations, and has been able to add more thanks to the open skies deal. US legacy carriers also serve the airport from major US hubs. Etihad Airways operates a 10 times weekly service between the airport and Abu Dhabi and on 9 January 2012 Emirates began a daily direct service to Dubai.
United States border preclearance services are available at the airport for US-bound passengers, Dublin being one of only two European airports with this facility, along with Shannon.
Read more about Dublin Airport: Long-haul Traffic, Aer Rianta and Dublin Airport Authority, Safety & Security, Maintenance Facilities, Airlines and Destinations, Ground Transport, Dublin Airport City
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)