THE daa Chief Executive Officer Dalton Phillips and members of the Executive Management Team at Dublin Airport have met with members of government with to outline plans to manage the passenger experience for the upcoming June Bank Holiday weekend.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State with responsibility for international transport Hildegarde Naughton had previously expressed their disappointment at the scenes at the airport over the weekend which saw over 1,000 people miss their flights due to staff shortage-induced queues.
At today's meeting, the daa advised on their plan to improve queue management; maximise the availability of staffing resources and increase the number of security lanes open at peak times.
The daa also said it intends to compensate passengers who missed flights last weekend.
Operational management arrangements for the June Bank Holiday weekend are currently being finalised, and will be communicated in the next 24 hours.
The ministers also emphasised the importance of restoring passenger confidence in Dublin Airport.
Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath has warned the daa that what happened on Sunday can never be repeated.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions today, where McGrath was standing in for the Taoiseach who is currently in Brussels, he said the scenes at the airport over the weekend were “completely unacceptable” .
"daa needs to do whatever it takes to make sure that this issue is addressed and that we do not see those kinds of things again, in particular on the forthcoming bank holiday weekend,” he said.
Mr Phillps will also appear before the Oireachtas Transport Committee tomorrow to discuss the airport crisis.
McGrath told the Dáil that details of the plan will be communicated at the meeting, but added that a communications campaign must be rolled out so they public are reassured that they can navigate the airport ahead of their flight.
If passengers turn up on time for their flight, the airport authorities must ensure that they play their part and do their job, said McGrath.
