It's been a torturously long 16 months sat our desks, dreaming of jetting off to somewhere in the sun. Irish people love a holiday at the best of times, but it's safe to say over the last year and a half the idea of escaping this country to lounge by a pool has never been more alluring.
It should come as no surprise then that after a wait that's felt like an eternity people are now taking full advantage of their newfound freedom with international travel reopened.
The popular taxi hailing app FREE NOW this week released data which showed a surge in people hightailing it straight to Dublin Airport - an increase of 80 per cent on the previous week and a whopping 170 per cent compared to the same week in 2020.
Of course, it's not just Dubliners who are taking flight - trip data also highlights a week-on-week jump in taxi trips to Cork and Shannon airports on the 19th and 20th of July, increasing respectively by 96 per cent (Cork) and 65 per cent (Shannon).
Naturally enough the busiest day for airport trips was July 19, the day the ban on non-essential travel was lifted. The busiest hour for trips on Monday was 4am - clearly people were keen to get a head start and not waste a solitary second that annual leave!
The total number of passengers passing through Dublin Airport nearly doubled that same day to 22,500 compared to an average of 14,000 per day the previous week. Although this is an impressive jump, it's still a far cry from the numbers the airport was used to in a pre-pandemic life - 87 per cent less than the same period in 2019 to be exact.
"We expect the demand for airport bookings to continue growing over the coming months with the widespread roll-out of vaccinations and digital Covid certs, making foreign travel a safer and more straightforward process as we emerge from the pandemic," said Niall Carson, General Manager at FREE NOW.
"We are committed to playing our part in supporting Ireland's post-pandemic reboot and keeping the nation moving with safe and flexible transport options," he continued. And what an important role it is - is there a worse start to a holiday than lugging a suitcase onto Dublin Bus?
Featured Image Credit: FREE NOWTopics: Ireland