Dublin Airport

Frequently fly from Dublin Airport compared to other Airports its is very poor. Car Rental Pickup/Dropoff is nowhere near the Terminal. Security is unpredictable and poorly staffed there was a massive queue yesterday and still they only had one third of the Security points operating staff were rude. Factor in 3 hours if dropping back a rental car and its your first time at this Airport queues can be horrendous we showed up early due to the warnings on the radio of queues with the Bank Holiday weekend only to see that they hadn't even opened one third of the security checkpoints.

Allow 2hrs to get from the motorway to hire car drop off through check-in and then security. Hire car drop off is a mile from the airport no garages nearby and all traffic lights are set to stop you for 2 mins at every junction. Hire car buses drop you at arrivals not departures. When you've found the right half of departures to go to and hiked all the way there check-in goes reasonably well. Then it's onto security: Allow at least an hour of queuing. Prepare for rude operators and to have all your personal effects strewn over the conveyor until they tell you you're clear to go. After that it's a 20minute hike to your gate. Once onboard it's a 5 minute drive and 15 minute wait on the curtain before you finally get in the air.

Dublin T2 to Manchester quick check-in although Aer Lingus do the 'one queue for all flights' check-in. Plane away on time despite it being a packed Friday afternoon flight. Nice clean well laid out terminal and the Guinness no more expensive than central Dublin.

T1 Layout is poor and not up to the demands of the airport today. It all feels very cramped at check-in. Check-in times generally long despite operator choice. Security gates never fully manned - I have flown through many times and always have a longish queue - frustrating as this is cost cutting as there are security gates free but not manned. Dublin Airport Authority charges all customers 1-2 euro for a plastic bag for liquids. Long walks to many gates and shopping is sporadic and very poorly laid out just after security gates in T1. Baggage reclaim area feels dirty and looks depressed. On the plus shop variety and services are very good - expensive.

Excellent airport especially the new terminal 2. It was just built so is modern clean spacious and simple to use. Lots of shops and duty free nice places to eat and sit down. Terminal 1 is also great with many options for food and shopping although it's an older building - always clean and organized. The airport as a whole is excellent well located with plenty of parking spaces and bus routes and soon the new rail system will make everything even easier.

Use DUB frequently and now mainly T2 as Aer Lingus is based at this terminal. While I see some people complaining about having to go up and down-stairs numerous times I honestly don't see the problem. The terminal is bright airy and modern. I still can't get used to the speed of using this terminal and still arrive with so much time to spare with the entire process of getting from my car through check-in and security now taking an average of around only 15 minutes. Arrival is also a breeze.

Terminal 2. Apart from the aesthetic architecture it has little to recommend it. To enter the terminal from the car park you have to go upstairs one flight. Once you arrive in terminal to go to check-in you then have to descend one level. Once you have checked in you have to ascend two levels to go through security. Once through security there are the usual shops. To go to the gates you then have to descend two levels. It is a tragic failure of design.

I arrived in Dublin T1 midweek with Ryanair. I guess as with many airports that are geared to low-cost airlines you need to be prepared for a bit of a walk to immigration once you arrive. It's the same in departures and some of the gates are behind a one-way system which will not allow you to return to the shopping and refreshment areas once you've passed through. Dublin Airport doesn't have any kind of rail link or metro to the city centre. If you're not being picked up you will have to get the bus or a taxi. There are two very well publicised routes into the city. If I'm honest though my visit was pretty trouble free. I didn't really need to queue for very long anywhere other than to get on the flight and that was only delayed. There is plenty of space in this airport and I didn't feel like I was being herded like I often do at Bristol.

Used T2 several time's this year and every time has been fine. Checked in online and just walked in and put my bag in the baggage drop no queues. Most people complain about going up 2 levels and down a level (down two levels for US flights) but its not that difficult I think people are just looking for something to complain about. Security is quick A lot quicker than most other international airports and it was a busy Monday morning when I was flying out. The duty free is fine Not as big as T1 but big enough. Good choice of places to eat/drink with views over the airport. Pier E is spacious and clean the furthest gate is only a 10 mins walk if taking your time. Overall a very good terminal big improvement on T1.

The T2 I used for arrival and departure was clean tidy and very convenient in every aspect. On arrival immigration took about 7 mins then easy to find bus to the city. On departure security check was a breeze and then to the gate area with beautiful views of the apron. The building is and the facilities are nice. Food prices are higher than reasonable the airport is badly under used so not enough customers to run high street prices. Good facility. Easy to use. Duty free is somewhat Dubai like - very uninspiring.