Mr. Darren Moloney:

I thank the Chairman and members for inviting Sky Handling Partner, SHP, to appear. SHP provides third-party ground handling services to airlines at Dublin Airport. The observations and opinions my colleague, Mr. Kenny, and I will offer are solely those of the company; they are not expressed on behalf of airlines, other ground handling agents or any other airport community member.

During the pandemic, it was appropriate and entirely justified that public health was prioritised. The restrictions imposed on international travel resulted in a 75% reduction in our activity at Dublin Airport. Inevitably, a contraction in our workforce took place as valued teams members opted to seek employment in industries they considered more secure. The exodus of skilled experience and expertise in 2020 and 2021 will take time to replenish but robust progress is being made.

SHP is mindful and conscious of the travel experience of passengers at Dublin Airport this year. The rapid rebound in international travel has presented significant challenges for aviation globally. Dublin has been no exception in this regard. Our service standards simply have not returned to the pre-pandemic level. On-time performance sits 25% below where it was pre-pandemic. SHP accepts and acknowledges responsibility for shortcomings in our performance standards in 2022 and sincerely apologises where this has resulted in disruption and inconvenience for passengers.

As a company, we have invested substantial resources to increase our workforce, with financial incentives to promote recruitment and retention. Post pandemic, it is critical that ground handling can attract the best and brightest to our industry. I am pleased that SHP has managed to recruit 280 employees who are either live on current operations or due to complete training within the next fortnight.

It is important to point out the difficulties associated with recruitment in the first three months of 2022 due to the implementation of the EU regulation in respect of enhanced security background checks. Although security and safety are paramount in any airport environment, the processing time to perform these additional checks was excessive, with it taking several weeks for airport IDs to be completed, ensuring there was no material uplift in resource levels for quarter 1 of 2022. Formal correspondence was sent to the Department of Transport and An Garda Síochána on 10 March, outlining our concerns and referencing the potential impact on operations at Dublin Airport this year. The current airport ID processing time has reduced to three to four weeks, which is a more reasonable and manageable timeframe, and this is to be welcomed. The recent increase in airport escort IDs, to 14 days, provides an opportunity for our new employees to undertake additional airside training. Again, this is to be welcomed and acknowledged as an example of relevant stakeholders working together to address the unique challenges for summer 2022.

A source of frustration as we embark on a significant upskilling programme of current staff is the number of non-EU licence holders who are restricted from driving at the airport. A key element of our operation is having sufficient numbers of drivers trained to operate vehicles that ferry passenger baggage and cargo to and from the aircraft side. It is important that the Department of Transport and the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, revisit these restrictions as this would immediately provide a large increase in the driving pool available to SHP.

Short-shipped baggage volumes from international hubs that feed Dublin Airport have been at an unprecedented scale and continue to prove extremely challenging. Some European airports have imposed passenger or flight caps to minimise disruption for the remainder of the summer season. Likewise, there has been curtailment of certain airline schedules and it is expected that this will help alleviate, but not eliminate, the instances of short-shipped baggage.

In the meantime, SHP, with the support of DAA, has managed to secure a landside location adjacent to terminals 1 and 2. This location enables us to move baggage to a secure site where our teams can work on processing bags for local delivery by courier, or reflighting if necessary. More important, it also permits passengers to attend and claim lost baggage directly. This is a critical development as passenger access to airside locations is limited by security protocols. In addition, airlines are extensively supporting the repatriation of baggage by sending support teams to Dublin.

SHP has a strong and proud record of achievement through the past two decades. We are a proactive and valued member of the airport community and have engaged constructively with all relevant stakeholders to mitigate the impact of disruption at Dublin Airport this year. We are committed to contributing to an improved passenger experience at Dublin Airport. It is important that I publicly commend the effort, flexibility and commitment demonstrated by SHP front-line staff and support teams in recent months. I am very proud of each and every one of them. Equally, I am grateful for the excellent collaboration and partnership of our airline customers during these exceptional times.