v3.26.1
Staff numbers and costs
 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Staff numbers and costs  
Staff numbers and costs

17.         Staff numbers and costs

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The average weekly number of staff, including the Executive Director, during the year, analyzed by category, was as follows:

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Year ended

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March 31, 

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2026

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2025

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2024

Operations

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25,716

 

25,577

 

23,214

Sales, management and support

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1,676

 

1,499

 

1,284

Average

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27,392

 

27,076

 

24,498

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At March 31, 2026 the Company had a team of 25,711 aviation professionals (2025: 25,952; 2024: 27,076).

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The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

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Year ended

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March 31, 

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2026

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2025

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2024

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€M

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€M

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€M

Staff and related costs

 

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1,609.2

 

1,537.1

 

1,335.4

Social welfare costs

 

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210.9

 

182.7

 

156.1

Other pension costs

 

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21.4

 

18.5

 

12.4

Share based payments

 

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15.0

 

12.8

 

(3.9)

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1,856.5

 

1,751.1

 

1,500.0

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Costs in respect of defined-contribution benefit plans and other pension arrangements were €21m in 2026 (2025: €19m; 2024: €12m). Staff costs capitalized into assets (and therefore excluded from the table above) during the FY26 amounted to €73m (2025: €65m; 2024: €58m). Staff and related costs (primarily self-handling) included within Airport and handling charges amounted to €124m in 2026 (2025: €111m; 2024: €14m). The average weekly number of staff related to this category of staff was 4,562 in FY26 (2025: 4,296; 2024: 630).