Dublin Airport has over 250,000 Irish dark native honeybees on airport land. A local beekeeper with 15 years experience tends to the hives which are now producing plenty of honey.

Back in May, the airport announced the honey – called Nect-Air – was available in their airport lounges. They have now gone one step further and it’s available for purchase at the Marquette restaurant in Terminal 1.

Irish Dark Native Honeybee

An outbreak of disease in the 19th century was thought to have made this type of bee extinct. Happily, in 2017 it was found the bee was living in over 300 hives around Ireland.


While this still means the bee is endangered, it was encouraging to find. The fact Dublin Airport is using this species of bee in its hives is fantastic.

Dublin Airport honey

Someone online made the comment that the honey “comes with the distinct flavour of av-gas”. While that is certainly not true, it begs the question as to whether you would purchase it or not.

Toxins aren’t the first thing that would come to mind when buying honey. Bees are an important part of the eco system and having hives at the airport helps to combat offset some of the pollution that the facility causes.


The bees at Dublin Airport feed on wild plants such as clover, blackberry, bramble and hawthorn. This means it’s hardly going to taste terrible at all.

Marquette is selling 340g jars for €9.95 and I would certainly be happy to buy some. According to the beekeeper, the particular flora gives the honey “a pleasantly mild, gently sweet flavour, along with its rich texture, warming amber hue, delicate aroma and slightly nutty undertone.”

Overall Thoughts

The human race is moving gradually towards taking more care of the environment. Dublin Airport has its bees and also a bug hotel to encourage beneficial insects to support biodiversity in the local area.

Other movements such as living skyscrapers are all part of a trend towards ensuring our planet can support future generations. All we need to next is prevent prolific human breeding and design an economic system that does not rely on constant growth to function.

What do you think of the Dublin Airport honeybees? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!

Featured image via Dublin Airport.
Marquette image via DublinLive.