Over 620,000 travellers to use Dublin airport over holiday

MORE THAN 620,000 passengers are expected to travel through Dublin airport over the Christmas period, a 10 per cent increase on last year.

The busiest day at Ireland’s sea and airports is expected to be Friday, December 23rd. Stena Line and Irish Ferries are exepected to carry about 10,000 people a day into Ireland over the coming days.

AA Roadwatch has advised travellers to take special care. While this year air temperatures on Christmas Day are expected to be a balmy 10 degrees – compared with -17.5 last year – the association warned AA patrols experienced a 52 per cent increase in breakdown calls last Christmas Eve, “which is the norm each year”, said a spokeswoman. Patrols attend an average of 160 callouts on December 25th.

This year permissible alcohol levels for drivers have fallen to 50mg for most drivers.

Professional and learner driver limits are even lower.

Events and sporting fixtures set to take place over the Christmas holiday season include the Leopardstown and Limerick horse racing festivals, beginning on St Stephen’s Day.

Funderland and the Leinster Pro 12 match will take place at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin on December 26th. Parking in the area will be difficult as a result.

“All of these events are expected to attract large crowds, especially considering the fact that many loyal attendees have missed out on these events last year because of the weather,” said AA spokeswoman Aoife Carragher.

Dublin city centre’s first New Year’s Eve festival, “NYE Dublin”, will run from Friday, December 30th, until Sunday, January 1st. The main event is on Saturday 31st and College Green will close from 2pm on December 31st until 6:30am on January 1st to facilitate the event.

Iarnród Éireann have asked passengers to keep up to date with announcements on its website, irishrail.ie, but spokesman Barry Kenny advised passengers to book early where possible and not to leave travel plans to the last minute.

Trains are expected to be crowded on Friday and Saturday and there will be no trains Christmas Day or St Stephen’s Day. Bus Éireann is also advising intending passengers to travel early.

Dublin airport authority advised intending passengers to check which terminal they are scheduled to use and to be aware of baggage and contents restrictions.