Dublin Airport set to welcome 460,000 passengers this bank holiday weekend

A busy October bank holiday weekend lies in store at Dublin Airport with almost half a million passengers set to travel over the coming long weekend.

Over the four days between Friday (October 24) and Monday (October 27), around 460,000 people are set to pass through Dublin Airport’s arrivals halls and departure gates.

Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the weekend, with 121,000 passengers arriving and departing from Dublin Airport, including 63,000 departing passengers.

Many residents of Ireland are set to avail of the bank holiday weekend – the last before Christmas – to get away on a city break or trip overseas to meet up with loved ones.

The Arrivals Halls will also be busy with many thousands of tourists coming into Ireland to visit all four corners of the island of Ireland, which will come as welcome news to hotel, pub, shop and tourist attraction operators around the country.

Looking ahead to the busy weekend, Sarah Ryan, Director of Communications at daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, said:

“This weekend marks the start of the school mid-term holiday, so our terminals are going to be busy. The October mid-term break always provides a great opportunity for families to get away for some autumnal sunshine, so flights to places like the Canaries and southern Spain and Portugal are going to be busy. Ireland is also a big attraction at this time of year for tourists and we’re expecting big numbers to arrive from all over the world over the coming days.

“Passengers traveling during this busy period are recommended to arrive at their terminal of departure two hours in advance of a short-haul flight and three hours prior to a long-haul flight. Passengers travelling on Sunday are further reminded to set their alarm clocks carefully, with the clocks set to go back by one hour in the early hours of Sunday morning.”

Security Tips

Following the completion of the roll-out of new scanning technology in both terminals at Dublin Airport, departing passengers are reminded that they can leave their liquids and electronics in their hand luggage when going through security. The 100ml limit on liquids and gels has also been scrapped and passengers are now ok to carry individual items up to 2 litres in size, with no limit on the total number of items.

To prevent needless delays at security screening, passengers are advised to be ready to remove bulky garments like hoodies, jackets, scarves and oversized sweaters. Boots which extend above the ankle will also need to be removed and placed in the security tray.

Prior to getting to the airport, passengers are recommended to check which terminal their flight is departing from.

For further advice on preparing for security, passengers should read the handy tips and advice on the Dublin Airport website.