Dublin airport to ‘manage flow of passengers’ entering terminal in weeks ahead

Dublin airport will “manage the flow of passengers” accessing the terminal during busy periods in the weeks ahead, the operator of the facility has said.

On Saturday members of the public queued outside the terminal for the first time as workers filtered passengers into the building in an “orderly manner”.

The airport has repeatedly come under pressure in recent weeks to meet demand, with travellers reporting spending hours in security lanes, and some missing flights due to delays.

On Sunday the flow of people was managed steadily throughout the morning, with the assistance of increased security operations.

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However, DAA, the operator of the airport, said during busy periods ahead the flow of passengers into the terminal building will be managed, meaning some travellers could be expected to queue outside.

In a statement DAA thanked members of the public for adhering to its advice of not arriving at the airport more than 3½ hours before departure time.

There were 10 security lanes opened, which “resulted in queues moving steadily”, it said.

“With extra security lanes open earlier [on Sunday] and our taskforce assisting operations, Dublin airport is prepared for an extremely busy Easter holiday time,” the statement said.

“At busy times we will continue to manage the flow of passengers into our terminal as part of a carefully planned process with the aim of keeping passengers safe and ultimately making sure passengers make their flights on time.”

Departure time

DAA attributed the recent challenges to a reduction in staff following the collapse of international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also said some passengers were arriving “significantly earlier” than their departure time, which was adding to the queues.

Kevin Cullinane, group head of communications at DAA, said it is making "good progress" on recruitment, with 130 security role applicants successfully progressing through the interview stage last week.

“A further 250 interviews are scheduled this week. In total over 4,000 candidates have now applied for our current airport security unit roles,” he said.

The company recently faced a political backlash about the pay rates it was offering to prospective staff, which were in the €14-€21 per hour range.

It also emerged that it was seeking security staff to be available for 40 hours per week, while they were only being guaranteed 20 hours work with a minimum weekly salary of €283.

Mr Cullinane said these roles are flexible, with a minimum number of hours guaranteed.

“Permanent contracts are being offered to new joiners on a 30-40 hour basis while seasonal contracts – which can suit third-level students, people who have other family or caring commitments or jobs – are being offered on a 20-40 hourly basis,” he said.

Seasonal

“Our business is very seasonal, and that is why, like so much of the experience economy, we need this degree of flexibility. Anyone on a permanent contract also has the potential to earn overtime in the busy peaks to supplement their annual wages when they go down to 30 hours in the quieter winter months.”

Last week DAA published a five-point action plan to deal with the expected increase in passengers over the Easter period.

Some of the short-term options to increase security staff numbers include identifying former security screening staff who are now in different roles in the company, and temporarily reassigning a number of Cork-based staff to Dublin.