There were “chaotic scenes” in Dublin Airport today as many passengers missed flights due to lengthy queues.
And the “disgraceful” delays continued into the evening, with one passenger saying just two security lanes out of 10 were open at 7.50pm.
Some people said they queued over three hours for security, while others said they were waiting over 90 minutes even with Fast Track, Dublin Live reports.
One passenger revealed: “It was so awful. Got in a queue at 7.10am, got through security at 9.00am. So many people missing flights, just eight lanes unopened in security.”
Others took to Twitter to slam the “outrageous” delays.
One wrote: “Arrived at the airport at 4am this morning for a flight at 6.25am, missed the flight because we couldn’t even get into the security queue until 6am, had to book another flight, just getting home now”
Another said: “Absolutely chaotic scenes - It took us nearly three hours to get through security this morning. Felt so, so sorry for all the parents with young children.”
A third person said they “stood in line for security for longer than the duration of my actual flight today”.
A fourth person called security “a shambles” and said there were “tourists saying they will never come back”.
Ryanair warned passengers to get to the airport early and claimed the issue was due to staffing.
They said: “Long security delays at Dublin Airport due to DAA staff shortages.
“Any passengers due to travel today should arrive at Dublin Airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure time."
A spokesman for DAA said that “queues for security are likely to be experienced at peak hours over the days and weeks ahead”.
He said: “We apologise to passengers impacted. Like other airports all over Europe, we are currently working extremely hard to ramp up our operation at Dublin Airport after the collapse of international travel over the past two years, including the hiring and training of staff.
"The recruitment, training and background security checks for all staff working at an international airport takes a number of weeks. This is happening against a backdrop of growing passenger numbers at Dublin Airport.
“This is having an impact on the length of time it is taking passengers to get through security, particularly at busy times.
"We apologise in advance but queues for security are likely to be experienced at peak hours over the days and weeks ahead as we continue to bring trained staff on board.
"In the meantime, we are doing all that we can to ensure that our security operations are operating at the maximum level possible at all times.”
The spokesman said DAA hopes more new staff can begin working in the coming weeks.
They advised passengers to be at the airport a minimum of two hours before boarding a short-haul flight and three hours prior to boarding a long-haul flight.
Meanwhile, all flight operations at Dublin Airport stopped for around 20 minutes yesterday afternoon due to a drone being flown in the area.
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
