James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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206. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the plans that are in place to deal with chronic queues and delays at Dublin Airport; the Dublin Airport Authority will be liable for any missed flights in these circumstances; if a root cause of the delays has been identified; if the staffing levels are considered adequate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28701/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The passenger experience at Dublin Airport is currently falling far short of the service expected by Government at our largest State airport.  The daa has the statutory responsibility to operate and manage Dublin Airport including all the operations associated with security screening at the Airport.

I am acutely aware that the excessively long queues and wait times experienced by passengers over the weekend and on Sunday in particular, caused significant distress to passengers as well as reputational damage to the country from a business, travel, connectivity, and tourism point of view.  

I have met with the Chair of daa and am meeting daily with the CEO and his management team and have conveyed the importance of this matter being resolved and the need for daa to reassure passengers that the daa is doing everything it can to ensure that passengers do not have to experience a weekend like last.

Last weekend, due to the impact of an acute reduction in anticipated staffing levels, daa were unable to open 6 security lanes, 3 in each terminal, which meant a loss of 30% operational efficiency during the first wave of passengers which quickly led to queues forming for security and ultimately to a large number of passengers missing their flights.

The daa has now put in place enhanced arrangements for this bank holiday weekend which seeks to deliver an acceptable passenger experience for all those departing from the airport.  Operational changes for this weekend include additional staff being deployed; an increase in the number of security lanes at peak times; and stronger queue management.

In seeking to address the security staff shortage at the Airport, daa has stepped-up recruitment and to date has successfully recruited 300 of the 370 considered necessary.  Daa has also advised that further staff will be recruited if required.  

I have met with SIPTU this week and conveyed my appreciation to  those passenger-facing staff at the airport – those managing queues, clearing people through security and boarding passengers - who are working in very difficult circumstances.  

While daa is confident that it has a plan in place for the weekend and the necessary resources in place, the challenges being faced at the airport are expected to continue in the short term until all new recruits are in place and trained.

In relation to compensation for missed flights, daa has advised that passengers should contact daa directly by email to customerexperience@dublinairport.com and they will endeavor to process claims as quickly as possible.

FInally, I will continue to engage with the daa and monitor the situation over the coming days and weeks to ensure that all that can be done is being done for passengers using Dublin Airport.