Ireland is served by connections all around the world, with flights leaving to and from all continents on a daily basis. In 2012 6.3 million people visited Ireland, the majority of whom travelled by plane. As such, tourism is one of the biggest contributors to the Irish economy, with a great deal of its revenue coming from its capital city, Dublin.
Domestic flights within Ireland are somewhat limited due to its size, however given its location just off the Atlantic ocean, it makes for the perfect departure point for travel to America. Popular routes from Ireland include Dublin-London, Dublin-Amsterdam and Dublin-New York. There are also some domestic flights that run between Galway and the beautiful Aran Islands.
Ireland is home to four international airports. The biggest of these being Dublin International Airport which is the 8th largest in Europe, serving over 20 million passengers in 2013. The other international airports are located in Shannon in County Clare, Cork, and Knock in County Mayo.
Ireland is home to some of Europe's largest international airlines; most notably the cheap and cheerful Ryanair. Other airlines based in Ireland include Aer Lingus, Stobart Air and CityJet. In 2010 Aer Lingus and Stobart Air teamed up to create Aer Lingus Regional which mostly caters to commuters and operates regional flights from Ireland to the UK, France and the Channel Islands.