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Dublin Airport's contingency measures ease further

Queues of passengers outside Dublin Airport earlier this year
Queues of passengers outside Dublin Airport earlier this year

Dublin Airport is further easing its contingency measures as a result of what it called a sustained stabilisation of security processing times during August and September.

Airport operator daa said virtually all passengers during those two months passed through security screening in less than 30 minutes.

It said the implementation of "prudent" contingency measures from early June onwards meant passengers did not face any significant security challenges in June, July, August or September.

More than 11.5 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport during the four month period.

Passengers at Dublin Airport had experienced "significant" queues for check-in, bag drop and security screening in May, with more than 1,000 people missing scheduled flights on May 29 alone.

The changes introduced over recent days include the removal of one of the two tented structures which were set up in early June to provide cover for any passengers who had to queue outside Terminal 1 at busy times for security.

The other tented structure is being reduced in size from nine metres to six metres, and will remain as a contingency for passengers queuing to check-in with their airline.

Meanwhile, the Departures Road at Terminal 1 has been re-opened to vehicular traffic and the bus drop-offs and pick-ups, including long-term car park shuttle buses, from Terminal 1, has been resumed.

Daa also availed of the chance to bring forward the scheduled resurfacing of both the Departures Road as well as roads within the bus drop off area.

Expediting these works means these roads will not need to be closed again in the coming weeks to allow for the resurfacing works to be carried out, as had originally been planned.

The interim CEO of daa, Catherine Gubbins, said that significant pent-up demand for travel following the easing of global Covid-19 restrictions saw passenger numbers at Dublin Airport increase by almost 400% during the first nine months of 2022 to just under 21 million.

"This recovery in activity provided a welcome boost to leisure and business travel but also presented significant challenges as the sector sought to rebuild following the Covid pandemic which decimated the aviation industry for two years," Ms Gubbins said.

"Through the phenomenal efforts of our staff, daa, in partnership with our airline and aviation partners, has successfully introduced measures to address operational issues which arose as a result of the strong return in activity. This was without having to resort to significant cuts in flights and capacity at Dublin Airport this summer," she said.

Ms Gubbins said that security screening through the peak holiday months of June, July, August and September saw ongoing improvement and the company's key focus now is on restoring the overall passenger experience and progressing the capital investment required to meet Ireland's connectivity and sustainability needs out to 2030.

"Passenger numbers in the second quarter of the year were just 13% lower than the same period in 2019, versus 36% lower in the first quarter compared with 2019. The current outlook for quarter three, which represents our peak traffic period, is strong with expected passenger numbers nearing 2019 pre-Covid levels," she added.

Passengers at Dublin Airport had experienced "significant" queues for check-in, bag drop and security screening in May, with more than 1,000 people missing scheduled flights as a result.