Yesterday was a low point in the history of Dublin Airport. It seemed surreal.
At a time when so many other challenges are facing passengers, from passport availability, car hire and hotel costs, it was simply incredible to face long hours of delay in queues snaking out of airport terminals.
So how have we got to this point?
So far the daa has blamed a number of factors for the airport chaos - a shortage of security personnel after voluntary redundancy during the pandemic, ongoing recruitment and training of new staff, unexpected absences yesterday and passengers turning up early.
Whatever combination of these led to the chaos, it is hard not to question what exactly the daa does, if it does not manage these factors, especially when they know in advance how many passengers will depart the airport on any given day.
The daa has held its hands up and admitted it handled yesterday very poorly.
Over 1,000 people missed their flights and the company now says it will compensate those passengers for "out of pocket" expenses they incurred as a result.
Read More:
Ministers tell daa to report back by tomorrow with plan to tackle queues
'Well over 1,000' passengers missed flights due to queues, says airport operator
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Included here are overnight accommodation costs, extra transport costs and any other expense that arose as a result of missing flights.
However, the company want to see your receipts and they will have to be submitted along with your claim.
What is not covered is a lost day of holidays, unused hotel or car hire abroad or inconvenience, matters the Consumers Association of Ireland say should be covered too.
For some, it puts the proverbial "tin hat" on a travel season that has been already marred by a number of other factors.
Everyone is already aware of the extended waiting times for passports and how that issue is forcing some family holiday cancellations.
Then there are the sky-high prices for some hotels if you are looking for a last-minute room, in Dublin especially, and some eye-watering quotes for hiring a car for a few days.
Before yesterday's security issues at Dublin Airport, departing tourists from Ireland had already been complaining about all the costs.
One can only imagine what they must be saying now.
A final question...what if it had been raining?
