Shannon Airport is expected to have much of its transatlantic passenger backlog dealt with today as tourists and business travellers resume their journeys after days of uncertainty and frustration.
Aer Lingus began transatlantic flights again on Saturday with flights to Chicago and New York. Priority passengers were selected for the first flights, based on a list sent from the American embassy in Dublin.
By yesterday, waiting times at check-in and customer service desks shortened. Aer Lingus operated five flights across the Atlantic yesterday and Delta and Continental also had flights.
The Royal Jordanian airline, which had cancelled its flights from Amman since Wednesday, was also expected to resume scheduled services.
Most passengers who had tickets booked for yesterday were able to travel but passengers due to fly on Saturday were put at the back of the queue and told in some cases that they would have to wait until this Friday before a seat could be confirmed.
But even for those who had successfully checked in, there were still long hours of waiting.
Sales of novels and newspapers rose at the Aer Rianta newsagents as travellers whiled away the hours reading. Many perused the books of condolences which had been signed by 2,500 people.
Other people were waiting for loved ones to arrive home on delayed flights from Atlanta and New York.
Mr Niall Maloney, airport operations manager, said security had been tightened and it would be another two or three days before normality returned.
"The back is broken on it today. Things have been going well since Tuesday with the co-operation from the local community in providing accommodation for stranded passengers, and the co-operation of passengers and staff." But passengers, although grateful for hospitality received locally, were often impatient to resume their journeys and grew frustrated at the lack of information.
"We are ready to cry," said Mr Finbar McCarthy, a pub owner in Milwaukee whose Royal Jordanian flight to Chicago was cancelled on Thursday. "We got a phone call last night telling us to be here at noon, that we were going at 5.30 p.m. We travelled by hired car from Dublin and as soon as we were in the door, we found out that the flight was cancelled." "We are ready to get home to our family and find out what is going on. Also, we want to get out of the country before Bush does something and it gets worse," Ms Norma Anderson, who together with her husband, Jerry, had been due to fly to Chicago on Friday.
Others were more philosophical. Mr Joe Robinson was told it would be Thursday before he could get his Delta flight to Atlanta. "We are probably going to extend our stay for two, three, four days. It is a small price to pay," he said.
However, the short term effect of last Tuesday's attacks was becoming apparent as local tour operators received news of cancelled tours for the last weeks of a season already hit by the Foot-and-Mouth scare.