LAST UPDATE | 3 Jun 2022
DUBLIN AIRPORT’S OPERATOR has said that departures are running “very efficiently” this morning, adding that they will make sure it continues throughout the Bank Holiday weekend.
DAA said around 49,000 people are set to fly out of the country’s main international hub today, with between 45,000-50,000 expected to pass through the airport every day of the long weekend.
Graeme McQueen, the company’s head of media relations, told The Journal that things moved “very well” this morning.
“Passengers have flowed well throughout the morning. I think from about 6.30am onwards, the time it’s taken to get through security in both terminals has been less than ten minutes. So a really smooth operation so far today,” he said.
He said one of the main reasons for the smooth processing is that passengers are “thankfully” heeding DAA advice and arriving two-and-a-half hours before short-haul flights and three-and-a-half hours before long-haul flights.
McQueen said anyone checking in a bag is advised to arrive at least another hour earlier than that.
“Sticking to those times will make sure you get through for your flight, and it will also mean that we can have that nice, steady flow of passengers throughout the day, which is what we want, especially early in the morning because that sets us up then for the day,” he said.
UPDATE: The first early morning wave of departures has run efficiently this morning at Dublin Airport as a result of extra staff, maximum number of security lanes open & improvement in queue management for passengers entering the terminals for check-in, bag drop and security. pic.twitter.com/AKLArQRpn3
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) June 3, 2022
McQueen said DAA is “fully concentrated” on making sure everyone flies out this weekend, adding that they are “very thankful” to passengers for working with them.
“We realise following last Sunday that we’ve got a job to do to win back the trust and restore the reputation of Dublin Airport as a great airport,” he added.
Today is one day, we have a long road ahead of us, but one day at a time, we’ll try and win all that back.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme earlier, DAA Head of Communications Kevin Cullinane said the first wave of departing flights went “very efficiently”.
He said the improved queuing times were as a result of the increased staff deployed for the weekend.
He said the extra security lanes were “at maximum” this morning for flights departing from 6am, with people checking in from 3am and 4am.
“We’ll be making sure that we continue that right throughout this Bank Holiday weekend,” he added.
DAA has put additional measures in place to avoid a repeat of last weekend, which saw around 1,000 people missing their flight due to lengthy queues at the airport.
An additional 40 security staff are thought to be on duty to try to reduce the time it takes to get through screening, with ten security lanes set to be operating “at peak periods”.
Passengers are being directed through two separate channels upon entering the terminal: one for check-in and bag drop, and a second for those travelling with hand luggage only who can head directly to security.
Tents have also been erected outside Terminal 1 where people may have to queue in an “overflow area” at peak times.
“When it does get really busy, we try and limit the number of people that are in the actual terminal just for queue management purposes. So at times, they’ve had to queue outside for a period of time,” McQueen said.
“We’ve decided to put covers over those areas just to make sure that if there’s any bad weather, that they’re kept nice and dry.”
DAA said that special consideration will be given to passengers who require assistance and passengers with an Important Flyer wristband or lanyard for autism.
Cullinane said they have also deployed extra staff for passengers who require assistance.
“People will see a lot of people in pink high-vis vests or purple ones throughout, but particularly in the new drop off areas,” he said.
“OCS, our service provider that provides that extra assistance for any passenger that needs it, they have a new our reception desk there and they will help people as they always do.
“Anyone who needs extra time, anyone who might need wheelchair assistance, anyone who has any additional needs, especially our Important Fliers, they will be helped through the new process.”
This afternoon, the Taoiseach said that “serious questions” needed to be asked about why there were such long queues at the airport last weekend and called for “lessons to be learned”.
“The focus right now has to be on correcting and making sure that Dublin Airport performs to previous standards in respect of the number and volume of passengers that it can accommodate on an ongoing basis and also in terms of the treatment of its workers as well,” he said.
“That’s where the focus is now. There could be decisions in terms of how, as a commercial state company DAA is operating to make sure that it can be accountable for the smooth, efficient operation of Dublin Airport, which has been the case pre-pandemic but certainly not acceptable what happened last week.”
Additional reporting by Lauren Boland
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