Passengers at Dublin Airport faced lengthy queues on Friday morning as staffing issues continue to cause delays.
Significant queues were reported in both terminals on Friday, in particular between 2.30am and 4.30am. At peak times, it took some passengers 70 minutes to pass through security.
According to Dublin Airport, it was "mainly the result of a large number of passengers arriving earlier than expected ahead of flights later in the morning".
It comes as the airport is facing increasing pressure amid staff shortages as the airport recovers from the pandemic.
DAA, the airport operator, has said the shortage of security screening staff is the key contributory factor to the current difficulties.
However, some 250 candidates were invited for an interview this week, of which 100 were given job offers.
If you are flying from Dublin Airport soon, please be aware that it might be very busy at peak periods, so allow yourself plenty of time. At peak times, this can mean up to 3 and a half hours before your departure time. If parking a car, allow a further 30 minutes.✈️
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) April 4, 2022
On Wednesday, DAA announced a new plan to tackle delays ahead of the busy Easter break.
The plan incudes the recruitment and training of a “significant number” of additional security screening staff, deployment of a task force, a targeted communication campaign and keeping security in Terminal 1 open 24/7 to reduce the build-up of queues.
The authority, which already implemented some measures, described them as successful as, over the past 10 days, none of the 300,000 passengers who had departed out of Dublin Airport had missed a flight due to security queues.
Despite the plan, passengers are being advised to arrive at the airport a minimum of three-and-a-half hours prior to their departure time.
Asked earlier this week if he thinks Defence Forces personnel should be drafted in to help, Minister for Foreign Affairs Coveney said: “That’s an option I’m not very keen on, I have to say as Minister for Defence.
“Our Defence Forces are busy, they’re asked to do a lot outside of core defence.
“But there is no formal request and has been no formal request for the army to be part of the solution in Dublin airport.”
