Dublin Airport has said that an estimated 850,000 people are due to travel through the airport this Christmas.
This compares to almost 1.5 million people who passed through the airport during the same period in 2019 - a reduction of 42% in passenger numbers.
But it also marks an increase of 615,000 passengers when compared to last year, when just 235,000 passengers travelled through the country's main international gateway during the Christmas period.
Dublin Airport said that from Friday December 17 to Tuesday January 4 an average of 45,000 departing and arriving passengers are expected each day.
This compares to an average of 12,000 passengers a day over the Christmas season last year, and 77,000 a day during the same period in 2019.
The busiest day during the Christmas season is expected to be December 19, followed closely by December 23.
Dublin Airport said the new travel restrictions recently introduced by the Government for arrivals into Ireland has made passenger forecasting more difficult than a typical pre-Covid-19 Christmas.
Final passenger numbers may vary if passengers decided not to travel that have already booked, it added.
It also reminded all passengers to comply fully with Covid-19 guidelines throughout their entire journey through the airport.
Face masks are mandatory at Dublin Airport and must be worn when in the terminal buildings. Social distancing protocols should also be observed and there are more than 1,000 hand sanitisers located throughout the Dublin Airport campus.
Anyone planning to greet passengers should arrange to meet them outside the terminal buildings.
There are new meeting points just outside Terminal 1 and at the glass walkway between the Terminal 2 car park and arrivals.
Dublin Airport is recommending that anyone who is collecting passengers arrange pick-ups in advance.
Dublin Airport will close on Christmas Day - the only day on which it closes every year. But a number of staff members will remain on duty that day, including the airport's emergency fire service personnel and Airport Police.
Flight operations will cease on Christmas Eve. The last flight to depart is an Air Moldova flight to Chișinău at 11.10pm and the final arrival is an Aer Lingus flight from Tenerife, which is due to arrive at 11.35pm.
The airport will reopen on St Stephen's Day when a TAP Air Portugal flight from Lisbon arrives at 3.05am.
