‘Holding area’ among measures to manage queues at Dublin Airport this summer

A “holding area” may be needed for passengers who arrive earlier than the recommended time during extremely busy periods this summer, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has said.

DAA chief executive Dalton Philips told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that this protocol is in place in order to “triage access” to the terminals during busy periods, but that they do not expect to have that in place this coming bank holiday weekend.

He said that some of the short-term car parks in both terminals, as well as the space where queues formed outside the terminals, are among the spaces that may be used as holding areas.

“At times when the terminals get particularly busy, we may triage access to the terminals and control entry into the terminal, based on the departure time of flights if necessary. A protocol for the deployment of this is in place.

“For departing passengers, access to the appropriate terminals will be controlled and will require the presentation of documentation indicating the time of flight such as a booking confirmation or boarding card.”

Passengers are recommended to arrive at least 2.5 hours before short-haul flight departures, and 3.5 hours before long-haul flights depart.

Passengers should allow for an extra hour if they need to check a bag in.

“DAA will put in place bad weather cover, seating and toilets in the holding area as quickly as possible in the coming days following trialling of this system over the June bank holiday weekend.”

He said that “special consideration” will be given to those passengers who require special assistance, such as people with autism.

Mr Philips said that things will be managed differently this weekend and beyond, and that the airport is “focused on a better passenger experience”.

There will be 10% more staff this weekend compared with last weekend, he added, and around double the number of security lanes would be open.

“We have 40 more staff, we have brought officers up from Cork which we’re very grateful for, we will have a very extensive overtime packaging, which is triple time.”

The DAA will try to maximise the availability of staff resources, increase the number of security lanes open at peak times, and improve queue management.

“Following these incremental measures, we are confident we have a robust plan and we do not envisage a repeat of what occurred last Sunday.

“And, should unanticipated issues arise, we have appropriate escalation and triage mechanisms focused on ensuring no passengers will miss their flights.”

Mr Philips said the quick recovery of the aviation industry following the pandemic, new EU rules requiring enhanced background checks of airport staff, and “exceptional levels of absence” due to Covid-19, had resulted in passenger delays at the airport.

He added that during discussions about the aviation sector’s post-pandemic recovery with colleagues across Europe, a return to 75% of Dublin Airport’s traffic in 2022 compared with 2019 was seen as “an aggressive budget”.

Terminal One is now at around 95% of 2019 levels, and Terminal Two is at 85%, depending on the day.

The airport is expected to have more than 30 million passengers a year by 2023, Mr Philips said, adding that it would arrive back at that number two years earlier than many commentators had predicted.

He said that losing around a million euro a day led the DAA to offer a voluntary severance scheme to employees, which was taken by 248 people, or 25% of staff.

“We should not have gotten rid of that amount of people… but if I knew then what I know now, I’d have made a very different decision,” Mr Philips said.

Asked whether the airport considered asking airlines to fly into other airports in Ireland, Vincent Harrison, DAA managing director, said it has discussed with the airlines whether they have “the capacity and the desire to shift capacity through other airports”.

“I would say that there are a whole range of logistical challenges with that, not least the crew and resources on the airline side.”

Mr Philips told TDs and senators that he understood the “anger, frustration and upset” among passengers over the scenes last weekend, and apologised “unreservedly” for the long queues and delays.

Asked if people who missed flights would have their holiday accommodation costs covered by the DAA, Mr Philips said: “Yes, if they don’t have insurance and it’s our fault, absolutely.

“We messed up. We do not want to be quibbling that at all.”