Ryanair Calls On Transport Minister To Address Dublin Airport’s Failure As CAR Confirms T1 Security Delays May Remain Until 2015

ONLY HALF OF T1 SECURITY UNITS OPEN AT PEAK TIMES – HUNDREDS “GATHERING” AT SECURITY EVERY DAY

2012-11-12 — /travelprnews.com/ — Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost airline, today (11Nov) warned Dublin Airport passengers that they are facing 3 years of security delays at T1after the Commission for Aviation Regulation confirmed a review of the DAA’s service failures would not take place until 2015 at the earliest.

Ryanair last week called on the DAA to address the repeated service failures at Dublin Airport where inadequate staffing has led to repeated extensive queues at T1 security (with delays of 45 mins recorded), causing stress and anxiety to passengers, some of whom end up missing their flights at certain times of the day.

The Dublin Airport Operators Committee (AOC) wrote to the Commission for Aviation Regulation in July and again in October calling for action, advising that an average 7 out of 13 (53%) security lanes have been unmanned during peak periods. In response, the (useless) Aviation Regulator, Cathal Guiomard, said the earliest point at which the services could be revised would be 2015, adding he would not directly intervene in the matter.

The Dublin AOC also wrote to Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar, last week to inform him that the DAA routed 700 T1 passengers through security at T2 last month due to the T1 queue backlogs (resulting in walks of over 1km for T1 passengers) and that queues of over 30 mins were recorded on 10 occasions over the October Bank Holiday weekend, peaking at 45 mins. By contrast, more generous T2 security staffing has prevented these unacceptable queues being imposed on T2 passengers.

Ryanair again calls on the CAR, DAA and Dept of Transport to take immediate action to eliminate these queues by instructing staff to ensure that all security points are adequately manned and to put the interests of the travelling public ahead of a DAA roster “agreement” which is clearly unfit for purpose.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Forget 2013 – Dublin Airport T1 passengers are suffering their own “Gathering” at security every time they pass through one of Europe’s most expensive airports. The DAA admitted at an AOC meeting in September that it is prevented from adequately staffing T1 security at certain times of the day because of staff working time agreements.

As a result, passengers continue to suffer abject service levels with unacceptable delays at security and the CAR has now confirmed it will be 3 years before Ireland’s useless regulator addresses this problem. Despite weekly meetings between the DAA and airlines, no action has been taken and it is wrong that T1 passengers suffer daily delays and inconvenience because DAA staff refuse to work at the times required to meet passenger demand.

“The busy winter travel period is underway and Ryanair is calling on the CAR, the DAA and the Department of Transport to address these service failures at Dublin Airport and ensure adequate staffing levels are provided in order to end these excessive queues and security delays at Terminal 1.”

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