Christmas Day - flights out of Ireland

mayhem1213

Hi folks,

I've a very, very rare opportunity to get a few days away starting on the afternoon of Christmas Day and had planned to just get a flight out of Dublin to somewhere/anywhere (ideally warm and not 90+% Christian) <2.5 hours away.

BUT. As far as I can see, there's not a single aircraft getting off the island on Christmas Day. Can this be true?

CelticRambler

True? Yes.

There's a tradition of blessing Ireland's aircraft at Dublin Airport on Christmas Day (no joke) but other than that, there's no traffic on the 25th.

Don't think the ferries operate either.

Berserker

Yeah, in agreement with the last poster, there are no flights out of Ireland on Christmas day. Could you not fly out on the evening or night of the 24th? Flights are going to be very expensive at this stage.

Stheno

Yup no flights busses or trains on Christmas Day

mayhem1213

Thanks Stheno.

Anyone know of anything out of Belfast or Derry? Or anyone in the trade have any ideas on how to get around this, either by unlisted charter or other means of transport?

mayhem1213

Berserker wrote: »

Yeah, in agreement with the last poster, there are no flights out of Ireland on Christmas day. Could you not fly out on the evening or night of the 24th? Flights are going to be very expensive at this stage.

Cheers Berserker. I want to see my son on Christmas morning but have no plans for the rest of the day. Christmas Day flights tend to be dirt cheap elsewhere, e.g. in UK, for obvious reasons.

kerry4sam

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kerry4sam

ProudDUB

michaelivo wrote: »

Thanks Stheno.

Anyone know of anything out of Belfast or Derry? Or anyone in the trade have any ideas on how to get around this, either by unlisted charter or other means of transport?

There is no way around it, if u want to fly out of Dublin. The airport itself shuts down, so there is no one around to process or screen passengers.

CelticRambler

Over on the aviation forum, or on another site altogether, you might have some (tiny) chance of finding a private pilot who's taking his 'plane out for the day who'd give you a lift to the UK in return for "petrol money" but I doubt many general aviation pilots would be going any further than that. Try contacting someone in Weston aerodrome and see what's going on there ...

mayhem1213

CelticRambler wrote: »

Over on the aviation forum, or on another site altogether, you might have some (tiny) chance of finding a private pilot who's taking his 'plane out for the day who'd give you a lift to the UK in return for "petrol money" but I doubt many general aviation pilots would be going any further than that. Try contacting someone in Weston aerodrome and see what's going on there ...

That's good advice -- thanks CelticRambler.

jooksavage

CelticRambler wrote: »

True? Yes.

There's a tradition of blessing Ireland's aircraft at Dublin Airport on Christmas Day (no joke) but other than that, there's no traffic on the 25th.

Don't think the ferries operate either.

This is quite an interesting thread. I had always assumed there were a few planes in and out. And the blessing of the planes, love it.

mayhem1213

There are now flights with Etihad from Dublin to Abu Dhabi for anyone seeking a fast exit on the 25th.

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michaelivo wrote: »

There are now flights with Etihad from Dublin to Abu Dhabi for anyone seeking a fast exit on the 25th.

Not out of the ROI there's not!!

highlydebased

michaelivo wrote: »

There are now flights with Etihad from Dublin to Abu Dhabi for anyone seeking a fast exit on the 25th.

Hmm...

LXFlyer

michaelivo wrote: »

There are now flights with Etihad from Dublin to Abu Dhabi for anyone seeking a fast exit on the 25th.

As explained to you in the Aviation forum - there are no flights anywhere out of Ireland on Christmas Day.

JCX BXC

So would Dublin be the biggest airport on the world to close on 1 full day every year to all traffic?

Looking throughout the world, outside of Ireland I can't find any airport thats any bit bigger than a minor regional without flights on Christmas day!

Carnacalla

Carnacalla wrote: »

So would Dublin be the biggest airport on the world to close on 1 full day every year to all traffic?

It's not a bad thing, in my opinion.

I know a lot of people in Ireland will work on Christmas day (Emergency services, security, ESB, some retail aspects, etc.) but I do like that the country still seems to promote an overall vibe of 'stay at home, with family' (even if it's not intentional).


Closing large places like airports is just one of those things that I like for some reason. It's a little reminder like 'sure you can always go tomorrow!'.


I know I'm probably putting more of a sentimental value on it than there really is (and no, I haven't been drinking) but I just think it's nice to see places closing on Christmas, and love that Dublin Airport, an exceptionally busy, constantly-going place, is among those that pull the shutters on the 25th


This post was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be!