Airline passengers have received conflicting messages about airport delays over the August bank holiday weekend.
Airlines and travel agents advised passengers to arrive at the airport earlier than normal, but Dublin airport said it would be “business as usual” after hiring additional security and customer care staff. More than 400,000 passengers are expected to travel through the airport over the bank holiday weekend, with almost 2,700 flights expected to arrive and depart.
New EU rules require countries to carry out more stringent checks on travellers entering and leaving the Schengen area, which allows passport-free movement across much of the EU, but a spokesman for Dublin airport said that this would not affect Ireland because it was outside Schengen. Passengers were advised to allow 90 minutes before a European flight, but should leave extra time for a long-haul flight. Ryanair, however, said that while its operations were running as normal, it continued to advise customers to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.
Aer Lingus told passengers to arrive two and half hours before their flight, and three hours if they are travelling to the United States, due to the bank holiday week being one of the busiest times of the year.