Dublin Airport

✅ Verified Review | A poor airport by modern standards. Terminal 1 is dirty and outdated. The security screening is far too small and the staff are not helpful and a bit rude. Generally it needs some serious updating but a few cleaners would be a good place to start it's a shame as it would not take a lot to make some major improvements

Don't be fooled by the DAA claim that you should fly through Dublin to pre clear US immigration. It doesn't work. Long lines. Automated machines that reject 90% of the travelers. Assistants that don't know how the machines work or that the fingerprint pads need to cleaned sometimes. It's a disaster. Better go through Frankfurt and deal with a slicker process on the US side. So DAA if you want this to continue to be the success it once was then put more effort and investment in.

On arrival the sign posts are clear and precise. They are all bilingual English/Irish. The staff were extremely helpful when I experienced a slight problem with the baggage drop and self-check terminals. Pretty decent selection of souvenirs and drinks and coffees. Security lines were fairly long but moved quickly The wifi was a little hit and miss in different parts of the airport, losing the signal a few times. The lounge was pleasant. You use elevators to get to different levels of departure, and I noticed a number of travellers who were visibly confused by this. The Aircoach to the city is probably the cheapest way of getting from the airport to the city.

Arrived pretty early for our flight but we could not check in for an hour or so which was not a problem as we were expecting a wait. Ryanair staff were very helpful. Facilities at the airpirt were good but as we struggled with our luggage we found a spot in o'haras where the staff serving drinks were really helpful and very pleasant but after sitting with our drink we and about 7 other tables were asked to move as a member of staff said they need to close the area to clean, had to struggle again with 4 cases and no spare hand to pick up drinks etc. Bit of a sham as I'm sure they could of cleaned in stages. A few unhappy passengers.

Dublin Airport Terminal 1 is literally falling apart. Buckets placed around check in desks to catch the rain from the leaking roofs. Toilets are outdated and aren't the freshest. Everything feels very cramped. I have travelled through here a good number of times, and always find myself in a lengthy security queue. This is simply a cost cutting, scrimping measure by DAA, and it makes travelling through miserable. You need to allow plenty of time to clear security and walk a very long distance to the gates. Back to security, the airport needs to work with the security staff to improve their customer service skills. Often they are grumpy and offer poor service. Through security, the gates are quite a walk - even for me in my 30s, it isn't pleasurable. Up by the gates, the shops aren't great and seats are often filled. Shops are quite good - Boots etc but with Irish not UK prices obviously, so a bit more expensive and inferior sandwich offer. Affordable shops compared to most airports. The shops in arrival, before check are also quite good, with a Spar etc. Ireland is a bit of a home to european aviation, and this airport lets the place down. Needs some serious investment. T1 needs to be rebuilt or seriously renovated. I have recommended the airport, but that's because you often don't have any other option when flying to Ireland.

On departure from this airport I was very impressed with the level of service provided to my son when he was checking in his bag. Staff courteous and friendly. At security it was quick and efficient, again staff very friendly. Shopping good and access to restaurants fine. On return the experience was equally good apart from the passport control area. Only 3 desks open and what appeared to be many many flights arriving altogether. Also a set of toilets very near the exit area was closed for cleaning and the the queues were massive. Apart from this I found the whole airport experience excellent.

Dublin is a great airport - clean and easy to get around. Security is quick and easy, there are many places to eat and shop. If you are traveling to the US you can use pre-clearance immigration so you do not have to wait in queues when you arrive on a long flight. Would recommend.

My Boyfriend and I flew from Dublin to Orlando with Aer Lingus on 28th of June. We have flown from there numerous time and Dublin has never failed to impress. We had checked in online and used the new Aer Lingus system and it was simple and queueless. After 5 or so minutes, we headed to security and we went through in roughly 5-10 minutes with no fuss or hassle. We then went through to duty-free and I personally believe there is a quite good choice. We then went to the Aer Lingus Lounge as my boyfriend and I are both Gold circle members, it is quite a good lounge. Promptly afterwards we went to US preclearance in under 10 minutes as per usual. With approx 1 hour till we boarded we took advantage of the cafe and other amenities around the gates and boarded early. Overall it was, as usual, an excellent experience at Dublin airport.

I travel between Dublin and Manchester 1-2 times a month to see familly. I have never had such a poor experince in any airport till today. I was booked with Aer Lingus and had a check in bag, arrived one hour 30 minutes before flight. On bank holiday the departures hall was heaving with fellow travellers. Aer Lingus self serve bag tag and drop system was faulty leading to massive queues and more information, after 40 minutes queuing I was able to drop my bag, I had already checked in online and had an electronic pass. Then came the nightmare of security, 1 massive line no different one for closing flights except if you had fast pass which you can't buy at the time. Needless to say I missed my flight as I got to the gate 10 minutes late. At my own cost I rebooted to a later flight and after clearing security in terminal 2 and waiting for gate to be announced in see on the screens it's from terminal 1 so a 10 minute walk it is deceptive to route flights to our earlier terminal to have passe general having to walk between the 2.

I would avoid this airport. We arrived 3 hours before our 10.00 am flight, but were told to wait a half hour before getting in line. We were shuffled from one station to another, 5 in all. Going up and down escalators and walking through shop areas. We had no idea where to go nor what was ahead. We even went through 2 Security checks. I was told one for Ireland and one for US. (I agree with as much security as possible.) We still did not know our gate and were not sure of our next station. My suggestion would be signage at the first line indicating the number of stations and length of time involved. And, signage for directions along the way. Or, the American Airlines employee could have clued us in so we could have gone to the bathroom first and takes care of our VAT refund. While going through these lines, the airport boards read "Final Call" so we dared not stray. The flight left a half hour late. Has anyone had a similar experience?