DUBLIN AIRPORT’s inability to carry out its primary function of facilitating flights has once again opened the door for Shannon Airport to capitalise.
Over 1,000 passengers missed their flights at Dublin Airport on Sunday with lengthy tailbacks outside terminal buildings in what were scenes akin to Kabul Airport or the fall of Saigon according to Clare TD, Michael McNamara (IND). Over 50,000 passengers were scheduled to depart on Sunday.
Forecasts for passenger levels have been inaccurate, daa’s Media Relations Manager Graeme McQueen said while outlining that 5,000 job applications have been received since the delays over the weekend. Queuing issues first became apparent at Dublin, two months ago.
Ennis based travel advisor, Gearoid Mannion received “a significant number of enquiries” from passengers attempting to change their flights from Dublin Airport as a result. Due to airlines not allowing a change or the destination not being available from other airports, he did run into some difficulties. Use of terminal two as opposed to terminal one, travelling later in the day rather than early morning were among the recommendations from Gearoid for passengers who had to use Dublin.
“It’s a poor reflection on the organisation at Dublin Airport to be honest, there’s no doubt it’s an opportunity for us to capitalise for Shannon Airport, all you have to do in Shannon is from your car and you have passed the check-in desk and security in minutes, there couldn’t be a greater contrast between the experiences,” Gearoid told The Clare Echo.
Management at Shannon Airport have secured new routes such as Corfu and Malta while also adding additional services to existing routes, he noted. “It greater flexibility to travel for nine to eleven days rather than a fortnight, it is hugely advantageous for people buying and selling holidays”.
Key to Shannon benefitting is the support of hinterland counties such as Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Mayo, Offaly and the entire Midlands, he maintained. “We have to grow the hinterland for Shannon, this is a great opportunity to do it, Dublin are shooting themselves in the foot, their misfortune is our opportunity”.
Government need to introduce a cap on the proportion of flights airlines have going into Dublin, Deputy McNamara flagged. He said the practice exists in the Netherlands and needs to be implemented here. “Dublin has a dominance in the market which it has used to squeeze Shannon, Cork and its competitors, that dominance needs to be tackled for the benefit of the State and aviation across the whole State”.
“There’s been a mismanagement of Dublin Airport in the short-term but in the long-term there has been a mismanagement of aviation and aviation policy which has all been completely centralised on Dublin Airport, in the past a far higher proportions were travelling through airports like Shannon and Cork, since then Knock has also been developed, those passengers can take a higher proportion, Dublin will continue to be the biggest airport in the country, it is the biggest city but we’ve seen a massive growth in passenger numbers that hasn’t been mirrored in other airports, we need to rebalance that,” the Scariff native stated.
daa Chief Executive Officer, Dalton Philips and members of his Executive Management Team met with Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan (GP) and Minister of State with responsibility for international transport Hildegarde Naughton (FG) and their officials on Tuesday morning. At the meeting, daa outlined plans to manage the passenger experience this June Bank Holiday weekend and into the extremely busy summer holiday period ahead.
A spokesperson for Dublin Airport said that passengers who missed flights can claim for any out-of-pocket expenses they subsequently had to pay. This will include any costs incurred in changing flights, any overnight accommodation needed if flights were missed, and related taxi or other transport costs to and from hotels. Officials from daa will seek receipts and evidence of flight bookings to substantiate claims.
