Airport bosses could not give a guarantee to the Government that chaotic queues which saw 1,400 people miss flights on Sunday would not occur again.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan made the revelation after a meeting with Dublin Airport Authority yesterday.
Thousands of people are expected to fly out of the country in the coming days as secondary schools finish up and the June Bank Holiday approaches.
When asked by the Irish Mirror if senior airport officials could guarantee that the issues would be resolved, Minister Ryan said: “They said they cannot guarantee.
“But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the obligation now to do absolutely everything to avoid it.
“What we said is that you have to do everything in your power, the Government will do everything to support so we don’t see those scenes again.
“First things first, you have to provide a proper service to the public, you can’t have someone queue for two to three hours and that not get a flight –it’s just not acceptable and it can’t be tolerated.
“The airport has to manage its operations so it doesn’t occur.”
Minister Ryan also said airlines should “step up” and make sure the check-in desks are as quick and as fast as can be but “it’s the airport’s first and foremost responsibility”.
He said the airport was coping well up until Sunday despite demand and pressure but that doesn’t excuse what happened.
He added: “They’ve to get back now to make sure it doesn’t happen this weekend and during the summer.
“It will be tight because the numbers are rising dramatically.”
Minister Ryan said four issues were discussed at the meeting between airport management and Government Ministers.
This included what changes officials can make to avoid queues so that the pattern of how people arrive at the airport doesn’t add to the problem.
They also discussed having sufficient resources so all of the security lanes are open at peak times.
Other issues on the table were how the airport plans to manage over the summer when demand is expected to increase and how they intend to compensate 1,400 people who missed their flight.
Airport officials told Minister Ryan that the DAA plans to maximise staff and increase the number of security lanes at peak times to help cope with the demand. Ministers said they have told CEO Dalton Philips that they have 24 hours to clearly communicate their plan to passengers departing this weekend.
Airport management came in for some sharp criticism yesterday from Opposition TDs as they blamed the contracts being offered to workers.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the “absolute chaos and shambles” at Dublin Airport is the result “of the DAA making redundant hundreds of employees during the pandemic”.
He accused it of then “trying to replace them with people on absolutely rubbish, flexi, low-paid contracts and that is at the heart of the chaos”.
Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy said Dublin Airport can’t use a “sticking plaster or PR approach” to address the issues.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said Dublin Airport is at only 70% staffing capacity and claimed what happened at the weekend was “entirely foreseeable.”
DAA CEO Dalton Philips is expected to face a grilling as he faces TDs and Senators at the Dail’s Tourism Committee today.
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