Probe after journalist breaches Dublin Airport security

An investigation was today under way at Dublin Airport after an undercover reporter claimed to have smuggled a bag filled with potential weapons, including a knife, to the boarding gate.

The TV3 News investigator allegedly carried a number of blades and sharp items which are banned on flights under a security crackdown.

‘‘I was posing as a passenger but I could very easily have been a terrorist,’’ said reporter Suzanne Coogan.

‘‘I checked in for a 6.50 Ryanair flight to Birmingham at 6.15. I went through the security area and had razor blades, a six-inch nail file and a miniature tool kit with a three- to-four-inch knife.

‘‘I had scissors on my key ring which I threw into the tray as I went through the metal detectors.

‘‘I really expected to be taken aside and highlighted by security. I was not and just walked on to the boarding gate but I decided not to board the flight.’’

She added: ‘‘If I had wanted to get on the flight it would have been no problem. Questions need to be answered.’’

A spokesman for Aer Rianta, which operates Dublin Airport, today said a full investigation had been launched.

He added that spot checks were sometimes carried out on passengers at the boarding gate, so the reporter had not breached all levels of security.

‘‘Obviously we would be concerned if this happened,’’ he said.

‘‘There has been a lot of focus on security recently. We have taken this very seriously and launched a full investigation.

‘‘She did not go through all the checks. It is possible that she could have been spotchecked and could have been stopped at the boarding gate.’’

But Ms Coogan added: ‘‘In all the flights I have taken I have never been through any more security checks once I reached the boarding gate.’’