Huge queues at Dublin Airport as passengers brace for bank holiday flight chaos
Passengers were greeted by long queues snaking outside Dublin Airport terminals at around 4.30am today.Credit (Paul O'Connor / Twitter @paulofdub)
Holidaymakers have captured footage of long queues forming at Dublin Airport as Ireland prepares for the long weekend getaways, following a week of widespread flight disruption.
Passengers are bracing for another weekend of chaos, as holidaymakers prepare to head away early for the Republic's June bank holiday weekend.
But Dublin Airport officials have said they are “confident” that passengers will not miss flights this weekend if they arrive at the airport at the recommended time.
Footage and pictures early on Thursday morning captured long queues stretching between terminals at Dublin Airport, as passengers were shown arriving around 4.30am for their flights.
It comes after Dublin Airport made international headlines last weekend after long queues stretched outside the airport terminals and over 1,000people missed their flights.
Earlier this week, both the Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, and the Minister for Transport asked for answers about the disorder at the airport.
Dublin Airport had earlier warned of “significant queues” for passengers at the country’s main airport.
Some travelling were told they could miss flights due to the extent of the queues, with 50,000 passengers expected to pass through the airport on Sunday.
Officials pledged to try to compensate all passengers who have missed flights or had plans disrupted, if additional costs are incurred.
Dalton Philips, CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), told the Oireachtas Transport Authority on Wednesday that the delays happened due to a rostering error.
Mr Philips also conceded that the aviation sector had recovered quicker than had been anticipated, and that 248 security staff should not have been offered voluntary redundancy last year, during travel restrictions introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on RTE Radio on Thursday (2 June), media relations manager with the DAA Graeme McQueen said that if people adhere to the recommended arrival times “we’re confident that we can get you through in plenty of time this weekend”.
Passengers are advised to arrive at least 2.5 hours before short-haul flight departures, and 3.5 hours before long-haul flights depart. An extra hour is needed if they are checking in a bag.
“What we’re trying to do here is get the flow of passengers back to the way we want it so that we can get people through in a nice orderly manner,” Mr McQueen said.
He said that it is currently taking under an hour for passengers to get through the terminal, with around 46,000 passengers expected to fly out on Thursday.
Mr McQueen said that holding zones for passengers that arrive before the recommended times would only “kick in if they absolutely have to” in order to ensure people did not miss flights.
He said customers may be moved into segmented holding zones if necessary.
Earlier this week, the UK government blamed airlines for failing to prepare enough staff to manage the summer flight rush, as hundreds of journeys were cancelled and huge queues caused passengers to miss flights across the UK.
The combination of Jubilee long weekend getaways and staffing shortages after hordes were let go during the Covid pandemic were among factors blamed.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps claimed travel firms had “seriously oversold flights and holidays relative to their capacity to deliver”.But travel companies called for more support, with some airlines claiming they are struggling to recruit new workers and have security checks processed in time due to government red tape.
Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said the aviation industry did not know when restrictions would be completely removed or how much flying would be possible this summer.
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