Aer Lingus has called on Dublin Airport to scrap its advice asking passengers to arrive early.
Currently, the Airport is advising passengers to arrive two-and-a-half hours before a short-haul flight, three-and-a-half hours before a long-haul flight, and an hour earlier in each case if dropping off luggage. But appearing before the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Tuesday, Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said the advice was causing "unnecessary congestion" as passengers arriving early for flights later in the day were competing with those dropping off luggage for early morning departures.
However, Dublin Airport. Managing Director Vincent Harrison said the advice will remain in place. He told the Committee that so far during July, more than 95% of all passengers have passed through security in under 45 minutes, while more than 85% of passengers have queued for 30 minutes or less.
Read more: Over 4,000 lost bags stuck at Dublin Airport, Oireachtas Committee hears
He added that the airport is "quite confident at maintaining the level of service that we’re delivering at the moment." The Oireachtas Committee also heard that there are currently over 4,000 misplaced bags at Dublin Airport.
Sky Handling Partners are responsible for 2,897 of the bags, and managing director Darren Moloney told the Committee they can process approximately 350 bags per day but are receiving an additional 270 new bags arriving daily. Meanwhile Aer Lingus has around 1,200 lost bags at the airport, with the ability to process 700 bags daily and around 450 new bags arriving each day, the committee heard.
Tony Tully, ground handler Swissport's director of ground operations in the UK and Ireland, told the committee they had "less than 100" passengers waiting to receive their luggage from Dublin Airport. He said they expect the majority of these to be returned within a week. Managing director of SHP Darren Moloney admitted that their standards "have simply not returned to pre-pandemic levels".
Mr Moloney said that because of baggage’s "position at the end of the process, it’s often the baggage handlers who have to absorb the knock-on effects of delays further up the chain, so that they’re already facing a delay before they get to start on their part". He added: “This isn’t to deflect blame on any one party but to be a reminder that aviation can be viewed as an ecosystem where delays in one part combine and escalate to cause delays in another part. It’s not just about how quickly baggage is loaded on and off the aircraft.”
He said that the company has opened a "secure landside location" beside Terminals 1 and 2, to process luggage
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