DAA: Ryanair call to send in the army won't solve delays at airport
The queue at Dublin Airport's Terminal 1 on Friday afternoon, April 1. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
Sending in the army to help with the security delays at Dublin Airport would not help solve the airport's current staffing crisis, the DAA has said.
A spokesperson for the authority, which runs Dublin and Cork airports, said it “noted” the comments made by Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, where he called for 250 Defence Forces personnel to be sent in to deal with delays.
The situation has seen passengers queuing for up to four hours, with some missing their flights after lengthy delays passing through security.
Yesterday, the Department of Transport said it and Minister Eamon Ryan would be in daily contact with the DAA to ensure all necessary steps are taken to help speed up wait times for passengers using Dublin Airport.
“Our main staff requirement currently, and the roles we're urgently trying to fill, are for airport security screeners,” said the DAA spokesperson.
“These positions are specialised and require a significant amount of training — typically around five to six weeks — before workers are able to do the job.
When the visited Dublin Airport this afternoon, the queues at check-in desks and for security were not as long as those seen on social media in recent days and weeks. However, images and footage on posted on social media today suggested that large queues had formed during the peak morning period at the airport.
It is feared these delays will only get worse ahead of the traditionally busy Easter holidays period.
A number of travellers told the they had arrived much earlier than they normally would for their flights.
The DAA said the longest wait time to get through Terminal 1 this morning was 47 minutes and the peak queue time at Terminal 2 was around 33 minutes between 6am and 8am.
“Queuing times have been much better than last Saturday,” said the spokesperson.
“The same number of screeners at security are in operation this weekend compared to last weekend. However, the system is running much more efficiently because staff have been deployed from other areas of the business to help keep the operation running smoothly.”
The spokesperson said the rollout of a “staff taskforce” has already made a “notable difference” to the passenger experience.
Some 100 extra security staff have already been recruited by the airport, with plans to hire 300 more.
Work is ongoing, meanwhile, on upgrading the system which informs passengers how long it will take them to get through security.
“We are testing this over the weekend and hope to be able to deploy it next week on screens in the terminal and on our app,” said the DAA spokesperson.
During the week, passengers were warned to expect delays to normal security times through to the Easter period.
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