THE BOSSES OF Dublin Airport have said staff are ready for a busy weekend on this first Bank Holiday of the summer season.
Gary McLean, managing director of the airport’s operator DAA, told reporters at an event in Dublin this week that staff and management are expecting to see upwards of 110,000 people pass through the airport in one day over the period.
While every Bank Holiday weekend is busy, McLean said that the four-day periods have been getting busier and busier, as the operators are ramping up business this year and expect to meet the passenger cap of 32 million people passing through the airport.
The main thing for passengers to look out for? McLean said it’s parking.
Last month, the competitions watchdog blocked DAA’s bid to purchase the QuickPark commercial car park in Santry over concerns it would create a parking monopoly for the company around the airport.
The bosses signalled this week that they would be seeking to become the operators of the defunct site while the private owners find another buyer.
While the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission welcomed the idea for the out-of-use car park to be operated by a different entity on a short-term basis, the watchdog said it should not be DAA who controls it in the long run.
The managing director said the airport has already warned passengers that parking availability will be “tight” this weekend and have urged those who wish to drive to the airport to book their space in advance.
Kenny Jacobs, CEO of DAA, also told the company’s press conference this week that passengers should also consider taking the bus as, for the first time, the airport will have 1,000 bus services a day, catering to all 32 counties.
Jacobs added that, over the last two years, there has been an increase in the number of passengers who come to the airport via bus and a slow decrease in the number of passengers who arrive by car.
Security times have improved, according to McLean, who said 97% of the 16 million departing passengers who went through screening last year were through in 20 minutes.
The DAA is also halfway through its project to install 35 C3 Scanners across both terminals, which do not require passengers to remove liquids or devices from their bag.
McLean added he hopes there will be an increase in the number of passengers who use the new scanners at security this summer.
“We’re still recommending people, the same as 2023, arrive two hours in advance for a short haul [flight] or three hours in advance of the long haul and that people prepare for security as they would before,” the managing director said.
“We need everyone to prepare as if they will be on the old technology so that we don’t slow down the system, where people might think they can leave stuff in their bags.”
Elsewhere, Shannon is expecting to have 46,000 passengers pass through the airport over this Bank Holiday period. Shannon Airport is expecting an “influx of passengers from all over Ireland,” according to CEO Mary Considine.
Similarly, Shannon Airport is warning passengers to book their parking in advance. The owners of the airport have said that 130,000 seats are on offer to areas all over the EU, the United States and the UK in the summer months.
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