Dublin Airport passengers who arrive too early will be put in holding area

Chaos at the airport last weekend saw more than 1,000 people miss their flights last Sunday.

The urgent plan – requested by ministers Eamon Ryan and Hildegarde Naughton – will be revealed by DAA chief Dalton Philips to the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon.

The DAA will tell the committee that passengers arriving too early for their flights will be asked to wait in a passenger holding area instead.

In order to access the terminals passengers will be asked to present documentation to indicate departure times.

Bad weather cover along with seating and toilets will also be put in place by the DAA.

The committee, which will meet at 1.30pm, will be told that the DAA is confident there will not be a repeat of last week’s chaos.

Mr Philips will tell the committee in his opening statement that the DAA had anticipated passenger numbers at 75-80pc of 2019 levels, but that Terminal 1 alone were at 95pc.

He will say that they had not expected pre-pandemic levels of travel until 2024 or 2025.

The DAA will insist that if “unanticipated issues arise” this weekend, they will “have appropriate escalation and triage mechanisms focussed on ensuring no passengers will miss their flights”.

More to follow…