Figures released by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) show that Aer Arann was the third largest carrier at Dublin Airport in 2007, after the 'big two'. Aer Arann carried 567,000 passengers to/from Dublin Airport in 2007, a 9% increase on 2006. DAA figures also show that Aer Arann's UK business grew by 41%, with particularly strong growth on Cardiff and Inverness. Traffic on the Isle of Man route increased by 7%. The DAA figures show that Dublin Airport passenger traffic increased by 2.1 million passengers in 2007.

Commenting on the announcement Colin Lewis, Head of Sales and Marketing Aer Arann, said: “We are delighted to be among the top three carriers at Dublin Airport in 2007. We are delighted that Aer Arann is now bigger than Air France, SAS, BA, Cityjet, Lufthansa, Delta, Iberia and Continental at Dublin Airport. When you consider that Dublin Airport is the 17th busiest international airport in the world, with passenger figures increasing year on year, this is a great achievement for us. Aer Arann will begin operating a number of new routes this year and we predict further increase in passenger numbers for 2008.”

Domestic air travel in Ireland has been a huge area of growth. Siobhan Moore, Communications Manager for the Dublin Airport Authority, said: “Business travellers in particular have turned away from using their car and instead have opted for the skies as the easier and most stress-free option for getting around Ireland in comfort. Ireland is experiencing a period of financial prosperity in which people are time-poor and this has been a factor in the expansion of our home routes.”