The heads of Dublin Airport were joined by Father Martin Noone this week to complete an annual tradition ahead of the New Year, with many online branding it innately ‘Irish’
Fr Noone, the chaplain of Dublin Airport church, was greeted by the airport’s Managing Director, Gary McLean, and Chief Airport Police Officer, Kenneth Roberts, ahead of the event.
The chaplain then proceeded with the ‘annual blessing of the planes’.
The event is to mark what is hopefully ‘another safe year of operations at Dublin Airport’.
Dublin Airport thanked Fr Noone for his service in a post shared to social media on Saturday.
Many users appreciated the blessing and also shared their gratitude in the comment section.
One TikTok user said: ‘This is the most Irish thing I have ever seen and I love it.’
Another added: ‘A great Irish tradition and long may it last for generations to come. Love it.’
A third wrote: ‘I find this very comforting.’
Yet another commented: ‘I’m not religious, but I find this quite sweet.’
This was the 78th ‘blessing of the planes’ that Dublin Airport has seen, with the tradition going back to 1947 for an Aer Lingus aircraft.
Since 1967, it has taken place every Christmas Day, when the airport is closed to the public.
The tradition originates from Vatican approval for aviation blessings and is always open to attendees of all faiths.
There was controversy in 2024, which initially suggested that security protocols might restrict access and stop the tradition.
However, DAA resolved the matter by preserving the core airside event for cleared participants and allowing landside alternatives.
DAA also provides a multi-faith prayer room in Terminal 2 for people of all faiths and spirituality.
Christmas Day was a nice and quiet break for the airport amid a very busy time for staff.
1.8million passengers were forecast to travel in and out of the airport between December 18 and January 5.
This is up 22% from the previous season, seeing around an additional 330,000 travellers pass through the gates.