Figures show that during the month of July, usually the peak of the holiday season, the total number of air passengers travelling through Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports fell from 3,911,133 to 416,436.
This represents a drop of 89.4 per cent when compared with the same period last year.
The number of passengers travelling through these airports in the first seven months of 2020 is 70.3 per cent lower than the same period last year.
Data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) also reveals how public transport is struggling to recover to pre-pandemic levels at the same rate as road traffic volumes.
The bulletin is compiled using data collected by the Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Road Safety Authority, the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
The data shows that since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, the volume of cars is returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The volume of HGVs is now greater than it was for the same period last year in both Dublin and in the regional locations measured, except for a slight decrease (-0.2 per cent) in regional locations in the first week of August.
Statistician Olive Loughnane said: “This bulletin analyses traffic counter data from selected sites to examine the changes that have occurred in traffic volumes since 1 March. The Covid-19 restrictions had a significant influence on traffic volumes, the number of journeys on public transport and travel through Irish airports.
“As restrictions ease, car traffic volumes for the week ending 8 August were just 12.6 per cent lower than 2019 levels at regional locations and 16.3 per cent lower in Dublin.”
HGV traffic volumes are exceeding 2019 levels for the seventh consecutive week in selected regional locations.
Ms Loughnane added: “The number of passenger journeys on public transport has dropped dramatically since the start of the Covid-19 crisis with journeys by rail most severely hit.
“Public transport volumes are recovering at a much slower rate than road traffic. Data from Irish airports shows that air transport continues to be heavily impacted by restrictions.”
The data shows that the combined number of journeys taken on bus and rail journeys in the week of April 12 was more than 10 times lower than those taken in the first week of March.
The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the number of vehicles licensed continued to be felt in July.
In the first seven months of this year, the number of new cars licensed was 31,867 lower than in the same period of 2019, a drop of 33.1 per cent.
There were also 84 road fatalities in the first seven months of 2020 compared with 78 for the same period last year.
