THE OPERATOR OF Dublin Airport has been criticised over prices for long-term car parking as customers report increases over the busy summer travel period.
DAA has said it uses a ‘dynamic pricing model’ for car parking fees, which fluctuate depending on factors such as the time of year and demand.
One customer noted a €70 increase for a ten-day period in the long-term car park, compared to the same amount of time just a couple of months earlier.
Booked 10 days long term parking for €95 a couple of months back.
— Estebantz (@ActingTheGom) June 9, 2022
Same 10 days today is €165.
Dublin Airport is a semi state body, they should not be engaging in demand based price gouging.
Another person paid €53 for nine days of parking in September 2021 and when booking recently for a trip this month they were charged €74.50 for just four days.
A search by The Journal on DAA’s booking system revealed four days of parking mid-week in late June will cost €119 – this increases to €139 if the four-day stint includes a weekend.
Fingal TD and Labour Party transport spokesperson Duncan Smith branded the practice as “unfair”.
“Until such time as there is adequate public transport to the airport – and fundamental to that is the delivery of Metrolink – trying to profit or increase revenue via any parking or driving charge is unfair on anyone who uses the airport, whether that’s travellers or those picking people up,” he said.
“A lot of people have to drive and to be penalised excessively with a parking cost is just plain unfair.
“DAA have a job of work to do to turn around their reputation with people in Ireland and I think they need to reflect on that over the summer.”
In a statement, Graeme McQueen, media relations manager for DAA, said the price of car parking at Dublin Airport fluctuates depending on several factors, “notably the time of year and the demand at that time for parking”.
“This dynamic pricing model means that sometimes a customer can pay less or more than they may have done previously which enables DAA to effectively manage demand for parking, ensuring that all those who need to park at Dublin Airport can do so,” he said.
McQueen said the airport is currently experiencing very high demand for car parking as the number of people flying out of Dublin continues to increase sharply.
He said the amount of parking available at Dublin Airport is being “squeezed further” due to the fact that a privately-operated Quick Park car park located on the airport campus has not re-opened post-Covid. This means there are approximately 6,000 fewer parking spaces at the airport – around 30% of the total long-term car parking offering.
“We have looked to work with Quick Park to see these spaces brought back on stream for the busy summer months ahead, but those discussions have, regrettably, been unsuccessful,” he said.
“This will greatly increase pressure on car parking availability at Dublin Airport over the summer months. Hence, we strongly recommend that passengers book parking well in advance to secure a space. We continue to explore all options that will allow us to increase the number of car parking spaces available at Dublin Airport.”
DAA also came up against criticism following chaotic scenes at the Dublin Airport security at the end of last month, which resulted in more than 1,000 people in one day missing their flights.
Since then the airport operator has put a plan in place to improve queue management, maximise the availability of staff and increase the number of security lanes open at peak times.
Airport management has said the plan is working well and despite a busy bank holiday weekend the measures ensured passengers did not miss their flights due to lengthy queues.
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