4,000 apply for security jobs at Dublin Airport after flyers forced to queue outside

The DAA said a further 250 interviews are scheduled this week as over 4,000 candidates have applied for airport security roles.

On Saturday morning passengers were asked to queue outside Dublin Airport Terminal One in an attempt to reduce security wait times.

Images of long winding queues outside the terminal buildings appeared online with hundreds of holiday goers standing outside as early as 4am.

Dublin Airport filtered long queues of passengers into the terminal this morning and reassured passengers that queues were moving in an “orderly manner”.

The airport was reported to be quieter again this morning after some passengers missed flights due to long delays in getting through security on some days over the past few weeks.

Passengers are being told to arrive at least three and a half hours ahead of their flights, and can drop off luggage the night before if getting an early-morning flight.

In a statement to Independent.ie, a DAA spokesman said the airport is making “good progress on our recruitment drive”.

Kevin Cullinane said staff on a permanent contract also have the potential to earn overtime during busy periods.

"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 other family or caring commitments or jobs, are being offered on a 20-40 hourly basis,” he said.

“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.

"Dublin Airport is currently recruiting hundreds of new staff as aviation and our business grows following the pandemic. We went from 100pc to 5pc to 80pc and we are firmly focused on delivering back the international connectivity the country and the economy needs to prosper post Covid-19. No one working at Dublin Airport is in any doubt we need to grow back better and fast."

This morning, Dublin Airport opened additional security lanes in an attempt to get passengers through more efficiently.

The airport said the “optimum” number of security lanes and X-ray machines are open in both terminals based on “our current resourcing levels”.

Long queues of passengers were filtered into the terminal buildings over the weekend as people were asked to wait outside. The airport reassured passengers that queues were moving in “steadily”.

In a statement on Twitter this morning, Dublin Airport said: “With extra security lanes open earlier today & our TaskForce assisting operations, Dublin Airport is prepared for an extremely busy Easter holiday time.”

“We sincerely thank passengers for heeding our advice to only arrive up to three & half hours ahead of their departure time.”

“We are currently managing the flow of passengers into the 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.”

“We have 10 security lanes open in T1 and queues are moving steadily.”

The Business Post reported today that the DAA has let go 248 security screening staff through a voluntary redundancy scheme in the last 18 months.

Roughly 1,000 airport workers have accepted voluntary redundancy since September 2020.

This comes as the DAA revealed a new five-point plan last week on how it will tackle the upcoming busy Easter period.

This is due to a lack of security staff as the airport “ramps back up” to pre-pandemic staffing levels.

It said that the plan will see: increased resourcing; increased training capacity; deployment of a task force; a targeted communications campaign as well as operational activities - including keeping security open 24/7 in Terminal 1 to reduce the buildup of queues in advance of early morning departures.

Some 250 candidates have been invited for interview this week with additional resources deployed to the HR team to help expedite the interview process.

The DAA said the shortage of security screening staff is the “key contributory factor” to the current difficulties.