More than 1,500 travellers whose ferry sailings were cancelled because of last weekend's storms received the bad news via a text message sent to their mobile phones by Irish Ferries.
"We've just started running the service on a test basis on our Dublin to Hollyhead route and last weekend it got its first good test," said Mr Declan Mescall, passenger manager with Irish Ferries. "It worked quite well, so we're hoping to roll it out to all routes in the next few weeks."
To avail of the service, passengers give their mobile number when making a reservation. They will receive a text message warning them if their sailing is delayed, rerouted or cancelled.
Passengers booked on a return sailing will have their number retained until their full journey is completed, after which it will be removed from the database.
"When there are delays due to the weather we get a lot of people who ring us just for comfort even when we've put out a news bulletin. Now the information will go to them personally," he said.
Irish Ferries will still run its recorded information phone line and will publish information on it's website at www.irishferries.com. However, it hopes to reduce calls to its helpline and the need to phone passengers.
"Last bank holiday we opened up our offices throughout the weekend. We had between 1,500 and 2,000 passengers to contact so hopefully the text messaging will make that a lot easier," said Mr Mescall.
