*Shannon Airport group departures. Photograph: Stephen O’Malley
THE Shannon Airport Group is celebrating a record-breaking year, with over 2.3 million passengers travelling through Shannon Airport in 2025, the highest number in 16 years, 9% up on 2024.
This increase in passenger numbers came during a year of major investment, new routes, and industry awards recognition.
Shannon Airport will operate 40 routes in 2026 to destinations across Europe, the US and UK. This includes five new routes in the summer schedule – Rome, Warsaw, Madrid and Poznan with Ryanair, and Frankfurt with Discover Airlines, a Lufthansa Group subsidiary – together with increased frequencies on existing services, including Aer Lingus’ Boston route.
Plans are also in place for over €40 million in investment this year, with projects including a full upgrade of the airport’s immigration and baggage halls, upgraded taxiways and a new thermal wrap of the external arrivals area of the airport terminal which will be key to helping the Group reach its energy efficiency targets into the future.
Interim CEO of The Shannon Airport Group, Ray O’Driscoll said, “2025 was a really positive year for The Shannon Airport Group. We achieved our highest passenger numbers in over 16 years and invested over €20 million in projects that have a very tangible benefit to both passengers and our sustainability goals. This brought our overall investment in the Group to almost €200 million in just over a decade. We’re looking forward to an even more ambitious 2026, during which passengers will have the choice of 40 routes, the highest number operating from Shannon Airport in 17 years.”
Passenger growth in 2025 was assisted by new routes and expanded services. Ryanair added a fourth based aircraft to Shannon, representing an additional $100 million investment in the region, announced new destinations including Madeira, Lapland and Madrid, and increased frequencies on over 10 popular routes.
Growth for the Group wasn’t just in the air, however, it was also on the ground as 2025 saw the completion of significant sustainability and infrastructure projects, including:
- The launch of Ireland’s first airfield solar PV farm, set to generate up to 20% of the airport’s electricity needs. This was another step forward in the Group’s sustainability journey which also saw improved operational controls and energy management systems.
- 1,000 new passenger car park spaces created, bringing to over 5,600 the total number of spaces on offer at Shannon Airport, across 5 short-stay and long-stay car parks, in which over 200,000 cars parked in 2025.
- An expansion of the airport’s existing European passenger boarding gates.
Over the past 10 years, The Shannon Airport Group has developed over a million sq ft of space across the airport and its commercial property business. This year will see the construction of Blocks Y and Z at the Shannon Airport Business Park, two cutting-edge industrial units, adding a combined 100,000 sq. ft. of energy-efficient space – a timely expansion given the park’s near-full capacity.
Innovation at Shannon continued with Frontier Scientific Solutions, a new tenant, launching the world’s first dedicated life science air corridor between the EU and the US, linking Shannon to Wilmington, North Carolina. Further strengthening the park’s tech ecosystem, Galway-based firm Mbryonics – pioneering efforts to deliver the “internet in space” – leased Block R, the newly built, award-winning 40,000 sq. ft. R&D facility in the Business Park.
2025 marked 80 years since the first scheduled, commercial, transatlantic passenger flight from the US to Europe landed at Shannon in October 1945. Celebrations included a community time capsule project and an 80-flights giveaway, which attracted over 100,000 entries nationwide.
In addition, the Group celebrated multiple awards and industry recognition during the year across customer experience, operations and sustainability, among these:
- Red C Brand Reaction Index – Shannon Airport No. 1 Airport Brand in Ireland
- Aviation Industry Awards – Operational Excellence Award win for Shannon Airport
- Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Impact Awards – Environment & Biodiversity Category win for The Shannon Airport Group.
The Shannon Airport Group reaffirmed its commitment to community and sport in 2025, raising €500,000 for charities over the past decade. The Group also welcomed Irish Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley as an Airport Ambassador, and supported the Munster Rugby Women’s Team, who travelled on a Shannon Airport branded bus to victory in the 2025 Interprovincial Series.
Looking ahead, Ray O’Driscoll commented, “We are far more than just an airport, and we are proud of the role The Shannon Airport Group plays in driving tourism, trade and economic growth. Our success to date is built on the dedication of our team, together with the loyalty and trust of our passengers and business partners. As we look ahead to 2026 and beyond, we remain committed to delivering the excellent customer experience that we are known for, expanding our route network, and continuing our investment in sustainability and infrastructure as we strive to be best-in-class. Thank you to everyone who made 2025 such a standout year and we look forward to working together to achieve even more in 2026.”
