Christmas: Emotional reunions at Belfast airports as thousands return home

Thousands of families are enjoying emotional reunions at Northern Ireland airports as their loved ones travel home in time for Christmas.

George Best Belfast City Airport said it would see up to 10,000 passengers on Friday, the day before Christmas Eve.

Belfast International Airport said more than 300,000 would have gone through its terminal throughout December.

In the Republic of Ireland Friday is due to be the busiest day at Dublin Airport, with over 45,000 arriving.

Some 496,000 people have used the airport over the course of this week.

Thousands of those Dublin Airport passengers will head north to Northern Ireland to spend Christmas with their loved ones.

Belfast International Airport airport has issued advice for passengers flying over the Christmas period, which includes making sure presents are not wrapped.

Matthew Hall, the chief executive at Belfast City Airport, said passenger numbers this week were “a positive indication of the aviation sector’s recovery” after the Covid pandemic.

“Whilst the airport is not quite back to the passenger volumes of 2019, we do expect to achieve these in the early part of 2023,” he said.

Border Force staff are on strike at some airports in the UK, causing disruption for passengers, but the two Belfast airports are not affected.

The strikes from Friday until Monday and then 28 to 31 December affect Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports.

Kevin Cullinane from Dublin Airport said there had been a “very minimal” knock-on effect there as a result of the UK strikes.

In recent months the airport has faced criticism for long queues due to a shortage in staff.

Mr Cullinane acknowledged it had been “very challenging” at the start of the summer but said that over the past week “99 percent of passengers” had gone through security within 30 minutes.

Dublin Airport is advising passengers using the airport over Christmas to arrive two hours before a short-haul flight, three hours before a long-haul and allow one additional hour if checking in a bag.