Shannon Airport has warned that the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft will have serious implications for passengers and the aviation industry this year.
In 2018 1.82 million passengers travelled through the airport, a rise of 6.5% on the previous year.
The UK and transatlantic services performed best, which were up 7%.
Six airlines operated to seven destinations to the USA and Canada, the biggest number in 17 years.
Despite the growth, Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas said 2019 will undoubtedly be a challenging year for the airport.
"The world grounding of the 737 Max aircraft is having serious implications for passengers. At Shannon it is impacting our well supported and successful Norwegian and Air Canada services.
"This will affect our passenger throughput and resultant business as we build towards what is otherwise a busy summer season. We're continuing to work with the airlines to assist them in every way to aid the return of services", he said.
Elsewhere in the group, Shannon Heritage which operates day and night visitor attractions like Bunratty and Malahide Castle saw a record high of 925,000 visitors up 4.3%.
Shannon properties completed a €40m investment building programme at the Shannon Free Zone, adding an extra 650,000 square ft of new and upgraded office space which has doubled occupancy rates at the zone to 94% since 2013.
