Dublin airport has introduced an extra security channel for domestic passengers at peak times to reduce the time it to takes to reach departure gates.
Concerns have grown that it is taking passengers as long to fly to their destinations as it is to drive or take the train.
Dublin Airport Authority spokesman Vincent Wall said passengers on domestic flights should check in at least 60 minutes before their flight. Other passengers should arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before take-off, except for transatlantic passengers who need to check-in two hours before their flight.
The new channel is necessary after tighter security led to longer waiting times for passengers going to the departures area. "At these busy periods the new security measures have had a disproportionate impact on domestic flights, where overall journey times are more comparable to other competing modes of transport," Mr Wall said.
"The new channel is located at the existing A departure gate area in the passenger terminal and will be clearly signposted," he said.
From today there will be a total of 17 passenger security channels at the airport, an increase of five since April. For most of those channels, however, it is necessary to queue at one of two departure areas.
However, people travelling on flights to anywhere in Ireland, including the North, can now use the new dedicated domestic channel rather than queuing with the main body of passengers. It is thought this will affect around 350,000 passengers this year.
"This facility has been put in place as a result of the enhanced passenger security measures at Dublin airport, which have led to longer processing times particularly at peak traffic periods," Mr Wall said.
A spokeswoman added: "The idea is to fast-track domestic passengers, and to encourage them to continue to use Dublin airport rather than other forms of transport on short hops.
The opening of the new channel was welcomed last night by Aer Arann.
"We are very pleased with this announcement. This will help to speed up transit for all our domestic passengers," said a spokeswoman for the airline.