Dublin Airport was ranked one of the most stressful airports in Europe to pass through because of long delays caused by staff shortages.
And Easter weekend will be a busy period for the airport with 500,000 passengers expected to pass through from Tuesday to Easter Monday.
With that in mind, I decided to brave the "mayhem" to gather the best tips to get through the airport with as little stress as possible.
Read more: Dublin Airport advice on how to beat the crowds ahead of Easter rush
There appears to be bottle necks at the airport between 3am and 9am from so it is best to arrive at least three and half hours early if your flight departs between these times.
To get the best idea of the delays, I booked a 7.10am flight to Liverpool.
This meant getting up at the unholy hour of 2am to get a 3am Aircoach Bus.
Apart from running into the odd straggler from the night before, the walk to the bus stop was uneventful. And the Aircoach is a great service which got me to Terminal 2 three hours and 20 minutes before my flight.
It is a bit pricey at €9 for a single ticket but at that hour reliability trumps frugality.
Check-in and bag drop
It is best to avoid this if at all possible. There are three main hurdles to getting through Dublin Airport - check-in and bag drop, security and getting food and drinks.
Thankfully, I wasn't staying long in Liverpool so hand luggage was more than enough.
The real issue with the check-in and bag drop is that some airlines don't open before the normal two hours before the flight. This means you may only have, at most, two hours to get through security.
There have been plenty of reports of people taking over three hours to get through security so definitely best to check with your airline about their check in policy.
Security
This is the main hurdle in getting through the airport. There have been reports of more then three hour waits to get through recently but it took my 42 minutes and 15 seconds.
The airport seemed busy but it was a Wednesday which are not as busy as the weekends - especially Easter weekend - so best to give it as much time as possible.
There is a fast track option which supposedly gets you through security quicker but, in my experience, the normal queue appeared to move a good bit faster.
Post security breakfast and pint
The pre-flight pint with a fried breakfast is a staple of Dublin Airport but, sadly, has become a luxury these days.
The food courts and duty free was the busiest I have ever seen it which I suppose is down to everyone arriving early and having time to kill once they get through security.
I had to wait a half an hour to get a breakfast at The Garden Terrace Bar and Grill and they appeared to have the smallest queue from my unscientific observations.
If I had bags to drop, I don't think the breakfast would have been possible so a big feed before heading off is advised.
In my experience, getting through Dublin Airport was not nearly as bad as the worst reports.
The 'mayhem' is not as bad as it is made out to be but it is definitely no walk in the park.
Read more: Dublin Airport ranked one of Europe's most stressful airports
Read more: Dublin Airport: Car park bookings sold out as busy Easter weekend looms
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