Airport prepares for record passenger numbers

A record 90,000 passengers will travel through Dublin airport daily during the peak summer season this year. However, the Dublin Airport Authority said yesterday it was confident that new measures being put in place to create additional space would prevent a repeat of the congestion experienced in the terminal building last year.

The authority said it hoped that at peak times passengers would only have to queue for 12-15 minutes to go through the security channels.

It said it had considerably increased both the number of security personnel and the number of channels. There will be 17 security channels and nearly 400 staff this year.

Passengers this summer will also not face a mandatory requirement to remove shoes and belts. This blanket requirement was removed earlier this year.

It is understood that 20 per cent of passengers will be screened on a random basis.

There will also be a more selective approach to requiring passengers to removes shoes.

In an attempt to create space around the check-in areas, the authority is to relocate a number of airline self-service kiosks and ticket desks, move the Bank of Ireland outlet and reduce the size of the entrance lobby.

It is also renovating the sizeable basement area beneath the main terminal building to provide an additional 26 check-in areas. This €15 million project will be completed by December.

Dublin airport director Robert Hilliard said the airport was in advanced discussions with Ryanair about its moving its check-in operations to the new facility.

The authority also said five additional departure gates would be available for the summer period at a temporary facility currently being constructed.

Passengers using these new temporary departure gates will, however, face a walk of 500-600m from the terminal.

The temporary facility will be in use until the new permanent Pier D comes on stream in October 2007.

The Dublin Airport Authority is also to erect a marquee on the roof of the multistorey car park which would be used to accommodate passengers delayed by bad weather, aircraft problems or industrial relations issues.

The new marquee, which can hold up to 1,200 people, will have some catering facilities as well as televisions.

Around 120 spaces in the short-term car park will be lost as a result of the development.

However, the authority said that during the summer, the main pressure was on its long-term car park.

The authority also said yesterday it would be submitting a planning application in the summer for the second terminal, due to be completed in 2009. It also said it was in discussions with the Rail Procurement Agency about the proposed metro line to the airport.

The authority said its favoured location for a metro station was on a site behind the multistorey car park.

However, sources said that one of the proposed routes being examined would see the station developed near the Great Southern Hotel, several hundred metres from the terminal building.

Two million passengers will travel through Dublin airport during both July and August, the authority said.