Over 83,000 people passed through Dublin airport yesterday, its busiest day in the lead-up to Christmas, writes Ruadhán Mac Cormaicat Dublin airport
Improving weather in the UK eased pressure on the airport, with a steady flow of relatives and returning emigrants passing through the arrivals hall throughout the day.
In the departures area, snaking queues of eastern European immigrants waited to board flights home to Warsaw, Gdansk, Riga and 11 other cities in the region.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), which provided extra staff to accommodate the large numbers of passengers yesterday, reported no significant delays.
"It went very well. It was only people travelling to and from London who were affected, and delays were between one and one-and-a-half hours," said a spokeswoman. "The weather seemed to be improving, and Aer Lingus assured their passengers that they would reach their destination."
Ryanair said its Irish flights generally ran to schedule, though air traffic restrictions resulting from the fog in the UK caused some delays, particularly in Dublin.
Sisters Margaret and Mary Kennedy, originally from north Co Dublin but living in London, were returning home for Christmas for their ninth and 19th time respectively. For Margaret, it will be the last time she plays out the ritual: she intends to return to settle in Dublin early next year.
"I think Dublin is more affluent, house prices are lower and I have more friends here than in London," she said. "The standard of living is higher."
When she originally left the country, she could earn three times more in Britain than she did in her job with the health board.
Now she can return home with no work lined up but the near certainty of finding a job through an agency, she said.
New figures show that some one million eastern Europeans have passed through Dublin airport so far this year
"It goes to show you how times have changed. It used to be the Irish coming home from New York; now it's turned full circle," said the DAA spokeswoman.
Twenty-two-year-old Mark from Gorzow Wielkopolski in western Poland stood by a life-size festive duck in the arrivals hall, waiting for his mother on the flight from Berlin.
He has been working as an electrician in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, for the past eight months, and had driven to Dublin with his Polish friend Katie, who works in a nursing home.
"I did not go home to Poland for Christmas," Mark said. "Too much money for tickets."
"He is not happy," Katie adds. "His girlfriend cannot come here for Christmas. Someone stole her passport."
Katie is not so happy either. "Christmas here is worse than in Poland. The weather - no snow!"
But with a Polish food shop near where they live, they'll at least manage to put together something close to a Polish dinner on Christmas Eve.
For all immigrants, receiving their relatives barely compensates for having to spend Christmas away from home.
A Portuguese woman hugs her mother, pushing tears from her eyes. This evening they will return to Portadown, Co Armagh, where she has worked for five years.
Does she enjoy her life there?
"I have to enjoy it, because in my country there are no jobs. I want to return home, but I have no plans yet."
The DAA advised passengers travelling this weekend to arrive in time. Those collecting relatives should check up-to-date flight information on Aertel.