Dublin Airport security wait times are less than an hour despite reports, Daa says

Authority responds amid suggestions on social media of delays at airport this weekend

The authority which manages Dublin Airport has said that wait times at security at the airport were less than an hour even at peak times this weekend despite some suggestions on social media that passengers were queuing for considerably longer than that.

Comedian Dara Ó Briain was among those who took to Twitter over the weekend to complain about delays at the airport.

“Even more insane queues trying to fly out of Dublin. Important to say though, [the airport operators] should be on your knees, thanking your staff for the patience and charm with which they are handling this mess you’ve put them in.”

Another social media user posted a picture of a queue stretching all the way back to the car parks in Terminal 2 and claimed he had been waiting several hours to get through security.

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However, Daa, the authority which runs the airport, insisted that while the weekend was busy, there was no recurrence of the hours-long security wait times which were widely reported there at the end of March.

A spokesman for Daa said the flow of passengers through security checkpoints was being managed well.

“It’s another busy weekend at Dublin Airport, but queues are moving well at security screening with pass-through times this Sunday afternoon currently under 30 minutes in both terminals,” Kevin Cullinane, Daa group head of communications, said.

He expressed gratitude to passengers “for continuing to work with us as we move further into the busy summer season” and reminded anyone travelling in the days and weeks ahead “to arrive at the airport in plenty of time ahead of their flight”.

Recommended arrival times

The recommendation from Daa remains to arrive at the airport up to 2½ hours before a short-haul flight and up to 3½ hours prior to a long-haul flight.

“Where possible, passengers should also look to check in online in advance of travelling to the airport,” Mr Cullinane said.

Delays of up to three hours at security at the airport towards the end of March led to many people missing flights.

A shortage of security screening staff was behind the delays, after which the DAA ramped up a recruitment drive and redeployed staff from other areas of its operations to support the security operation.

It also temporarily reassigned Cork-based security staff to Dublin to assist operations there.

Conor Pope

Conor Pope

Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor and cohost of the In the News podcast