The return of international travel was welcomed by airlines across the board on Monday after a devastating year for the sector amid Covid.
With thousands heading to the airport this week, the return of travel has seen taxi drivers experience a major boost in business since July 19.
New data released by Free Now reveals that with foreign travel, many Irish people are using taxis to get to Dublin airport with requests soaring by 80% from the previous week – and even more impressively, requests increased by 170% compared to the same week in 2020.
Trip data from the Irish taxi-hailing service also highlights a week-on-week jump in taxi trips to Cork and Shannon airports too on July 19 and 20, increasing respectively by 96% in Cork and 65% in Shannon.
Monday’s easing of restrictions, saw the busiest day for airport bookings on the app since the start of the year, while 4 am on Monday morning was the busiest hour to book a taxi.
There was also a 95% increase in collections from Dublin airport via the Free Now app on Monday as many thousands return home to Ireland to visit friends and family.
Speaking about the significant increase in airport bookings Niall Carson, General Manager, said;
“FREE NOW welcomes the return of international travel this week, and we are delighted to facilitate transport to and from airports for holidaymakers once again.
“A holiday abroad for many people in Ireland officially begins with a taxi journey to the airport - with our team of dedicated drivers and our pre-booking function which allows passengers to book a trip up to 4 days in advance, we hope to make it a seamless and stress-free process for passengers this summer.
“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.
“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.”
