Cork Airport bumped up its passenger numbers by 9% in the first nine months of 2019, passing the two million mark by end-September.

The two-millionth passenger transited the airport last week, and overall numbers are expected to surpass 2.6 million by December 31, or an annual increase of around 8%.

Traffic has increased by 16% in the past three years and this year’s performance means passenger numbers will have increased by 25% in four years (2.1 million in 2015 and 2.6 million expected in 2019).

Managing director Niall McCarthy said: “Passenger numbers at Cork Airport are thriving, and it is the fastest growing airport on the island of Ireland. We have already announced six new routes and service expansions for 2020 and we are expecting more good news in the next few weeks for 2020, which will further increase consumer choice into and out of Cork.”

Swiss Airlines and TUI recently announced service expansions for next year, as did Ryanair. Swiss will operate four flights per week to Zurich commencing on 29 March 2020 and running until October 20. The 15% increase in capacity means an additional 4,400 seats on offer and an expansion to 30 weeks from 27 weeks.

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TUI is to up services from Cork by 11% next year, with a new service to Lanzarote, and continuing its existing routes to Reus and Palma, offering 31,500 seats next year, up from 28,500.

Ryanair announced a new route to Katowice in Poland for next summer, and the airline’s numbers are forecast to rise by 23% in 2019, its largest increase of all Irish airports.

Meanwhile, aviation analysts OAG said that Cork Airport topped the punctuality league for international airports in Ireland in 2018, with an on-time performance of 80.2%.