ONGOING CHAOS at Dublin Airport which has caused several passengers to miss their flights emphasises the need for a fairer ‘slicing of the pie’ to give Shannon Airport a greater balance of services and poses a major marketing opportunity for Shannon.
Passengers at Dublin Airport have been advised to arrive at least three and a half hours ahead of their flight with massive security delays causing huge frustration and inconvenience.
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has warned passengers they could face weeks of delays due to staff shortages. Lengthy queues at the Airport have resulted in some individuals missing their flights with hundreds of people having to wait hours to pass through security. The Consumer Association (CA) said they have received a number of reports from customers who have missed flights due to delays at security.
Delays are expected to continue as the DAA tries to recruit staff. “Like other airports all over Europe, we are currently working extremely hard to build back our operation after the collapse of international travel, including the recruitment, training and mandatory background checks required for all staff working at an international airport,” a spokesperson said.
An additional 100 staff have been hired by the DAA since the beginning of 2021 but there have been delays bringing them on stream due to increased checks on security staff before they can begin working in the airport.
No such delays have been experienced at Shannon Airport where Aer Lingus and United Airlines in the past month have resumed transatlantic services.
Shannon Airport was the first US immigration pre-inspection facility in Europe established in 1986, later becoming a full pre-clearance operation in 2009, and the following year, the airport was the first in the world to offer full preclearance for private aircraft. The international airport recently introduced a new security screening system which halves time spent in this area and eliminates the 100ml only rule, Shannon is the only state airport in Ireland to operate this cutting-edge technology.
PR Consultant Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Communications highlighted to The Clare Echo that Shannon Group has a wide open goal to drum up noise about the ease of access at Shannon Airport in the wake of the ongoing difficulties in Dublin. “Shannon Airport should seize this opportunity. There should be billboards everywhere urging the public to ‘Beat the Queues, Fly Shannon’. Officials may argue that they are operating with a limited marketing budget at present, but Shannon has never had a better opportunity to market itself as a hassle free, welcoming airport for passengers flying into or out of Ireland.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Shannon based, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) referenced the footage of the queues in Dublin Airport, “when it comes to the slicing of the pie we’re getting very little, there is skewered approach from Government, Shannon and Cork Airports could benefit immensely if they did a proper regional development strategy”.
Scenes in Dublin were labelled ‘chaotic’ by Cllr Michael Begley (IND). “That was foreseen, it wasn’t something which happened from some incident, it was foreseen when international travel resumed that there would be the security checks but there was not one thought given to diverting traffic to Shannon. There is free movement through Shannon Airport”.
