Dublin Airport

All ok apart from queues at security not impressed. Hardly any machines open and queued for at least 20mins to get through. Such a shame as the last time I passed through here really smooth and efficient. No excuse for queues like that should be able to have adequate staff on at peak periods throughout the day.

I don't normally do reviews but felt compelled to do this one after last night's experience at Dublin Terminal 1. I checked in for my flight about 1+1/2 hours before take off at 19.40pm. Going through check-in was a breeze but at security it was a nightmare. At the entrance to security are automatic doors which appear very new. At this point there was a little uniformed man barking out instructions to travellers like an RSM "don't step beyond the yellow lines! wait your turn etc". Passing though the automatic barriers you then had a very long zig zag queue of travellers. At this point I would hazard that about 45 mins had passed. If you had left it late as some passengers had you were going to miss your flight. The last section as always was the best bit and you had options which queue to join?! If like me you just accept that the queue you join will always be the slowest then no problem but if you're in a hurry! I got through okay and made my flight which fortunately had been delayed by 35 minutes. I am certain that many people missed their flights last night because of the delays in security. I think there is room for improvement at Dublin Terminal 1 but in the meantime would suggest that travellers check in early for flights.

Ireland's busiest airport is an airport of long distances to walk especially when flying with RYR (definitely taken into account when proceeding to the gates). Complicated structure with two Terminals. Poor signposting at check-in in T1. Cleanliness in T2 is very good T1 is O.K. Accessibility by road is good but no rail link. There are good bus connections not only to Dublin city but also to the countryside even up to Belfast. However it's quite difficult to find the right bus stance especially since there are several services to the city with different tariffs. Recommendation: "The Angels Share" pub in arrival T1. Airside needs improvement but obviously a master plan is already in force.

T1 Security delay was an absolute disgrace on Sunday evening 11/11/2012. There were literally hundreds of people and only 3 or 4 security channels open. It took us 1 hr and 10 mins to get through and would have taken even longer had it not been for the kindness of several strangers who let us go in front of them as our flight was about to close. We had to run all the way to our gate with a young child in tow and got there with seconds to spare just as the flight was boarding. We saw several passengers at security who asked staff to let them through as they were going to miss their flights. The attitude of the staff was appalling they did not care and just told the passengers to get back in line. Many people must have missed flights that evening. My cynical side would say that it is a deliberate ploy by Dublin Airport to promote their fast track security service (at an additional cost of course).

Depart Dublin Terminal 1 around twice a month and always have a minimum delay of 20 minutes in Security. I have also missed a flight due to the delay in Security. When you ask the security staff why so few of the lanes are open they say it is 'down to management'. Would be interested in the reasoning behind this statement. Terminal 1 has improved greatly since Terminal 2 opened losing its 'bus station' feel with fewer passengers around. Food and drink facilities are ok. Overall if they resolved the unnecessarily long wait in security it would be a pleasant airport.

I was booked to fly back from Dublin to Bristol on Aer Lingus. We got on the bus to go to the plane (after passing security etc.) only to be told that the flight was cancelled because of bad weather. We were told we could try for a flight to Cardiff but would need to go back to the booking hall - about a Kilometre away. I got back to the booking hall and bought a flight to Bristol on Ryanair. The flight was in 40 minutes so it would be a rush to get to the plane on time. I tried security but it was solid with passengers so I asked the staff on duty if I could get to the front but they were having none of it. I stood in the queue for security for 25 minutes and then ran to the gate to find the flight had shut up 10 minutes before it was due to take off. I went back to the booking hall and changed my ticket for the later flight which cost me another 110 euros.

I don't understand the negative reviews. Arrived around 13.30 Tuesday October 9th and departed around 14.00 Friday October 12th with Aer Lingus from and to Amsterdam. Arrival the short taxi time was very convenient. Arrival and customs were very quick the new terminal looks amazing. Departure Checking in was very easy (on the machines) as well passport control was very quick once again and only had to wait in line for security check for about 5 minutes. Many stores and restaurants easy to find your way around screens updated very regularly sockets to charge your electronics free wifi.

We passed through terminal 2 again in August. The security screening has not improved at all. The entire operation is badly organised and run. The queues were long but moving only slowly so I had a good chance to observe operations on my gate and the one beside it. The picture was the same. Both X-ray screens were being read by girls who seemed to have attention deficit disorder - they could not stay still and despite the queues they were constantly leaving their posts to chat to other members of the crew. Whenever they saw something suspicious on the screen instead of getting their colleague to check the bag they called over the colleague from the belt to the screen and they had a discussion about the suspicious screen. In all cases they decided that the indication was safe and the bag was allowed though without opening. It looked almost as if they were being trained but that was not the case. Some simple changes to layout and work practices could improve efficiency and speed enormously. The rest of the airport was ok except for a 15 minute wait for some smoked salmon sandwiches at the bar there - it had to come from the kitchen apparently!

I am outraged by the security screening at Dublin airport. We arrived 2 hours prior to our flight and despite having no bags to check in we still missed our flight due to the huge queues at the security screening. Only 4 lanes out of 16 were open plus loads of people were pushing in. We waited for ages and due to being understaffed we missed our flight. Disappointedly we were then told we would have to pay €110 euros to catch the next Ryanair flight back. The man at the Ryanair desk also informed us that Dublin Airport purposely put the gate number up last minute in the hope that more people will spend more in the Duty free section and that this has also resulted in passengers missing their flights. This is a total disgrace and what should have taken me a few hours to get home resulted in taking 3 times longer and costing me 3 times the amount. Also with it being the summer holiday season and a Sunday why on earth were only a quarter of the staff working? I sympathise with many of the other passengers yesterday who also missed their flights.

T1 layout is poor and very congested around the check-in area. Check-in and security screening lines are quite long. Dublin Airport Authority charges 1-2 euro for a plastic bag for liquids and if you do not have the coins you have to try to find change. Long walks to many gates and shopping is very poorly laid out just after security gates in T1. If you are looking for your VAT refund you have to make your way to Terminal 2 after security which will take 30 - 60 minutes round trip providing there are no line ups at the VAT desk. When arriving in Dublin Terminal 1 security is usually quite good but a fairly long walk from the gates. The baggage reclaim area is very dull and depressing and the exit signs are extremely confusing. This is not very good as this terminal was renovated within the last several years.