Dublin Airport operator DAA was challenged by the Government to explain how it planned to deal with the “worsening” hygiene and cleaning situation at the transport hub.
Passengers have reported experiencing unhygienic conditions at the airport as DAA struggled to keep terminals clean at the busiest time of the year amid staffing issues.
Records released by the Department of Transport show that the issue was raised directly by Minister of State with responsibility for aviation Hildegarde Naughton with DAA chairman Basil Geoghegan at the start of June. Notes of the video conference call on June 3rd show that Ms Naughton reiterated issues that had previously been raised with DAA executives as “needing attention” including cleaning at the airport.
Internal department correspondence from June 7th shows one of Ms Naughton’s advisers outlining how they “would like DAA to set out in a note what plans it has to deal with hygiene issues/cleaning in the airport”. The adviser noted that the “situation appears to be worsening”.
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Long delays
They also wanted a weekly note about the number of security staff in training and deployed and capable of operating security scanners amid concerns over passenger delays at the airport. Some 1,400 people had missed flights on the last weekend in May due to lengthy queues.
Despite Ms Naughton’s intervention, passengers posted on social media later in June highlighting uncollected rubbish strewn around public areas of the airport.
DAA media relations manager Graeme McQueen said the resurgence of international travel is challenging airports around the world. He said that while many other airports have opted to cut the number of flights they operated, Dublin Airport’s strategy had been to ensure “travel-starved passengers” were able to go on long-awaited holidays.
“We have also made it an absolute priority since late May that no passenger would miss a flight due to delays at security screening,” he said.
“A consequence of this strategy, which has at times required the redeployment of staff to different roles within the business, is that certain aspects of our service have been negatively impacted as a result.”
Toilets and seating
Mr McQueen said the high number of passengers turning up earlier for flights means people are spending longer in the terminal before flying “which in turn increases the amount of pressure on our facilities, including toilets and seating areas”. Passengers had been advised by the DAA to turn up earlier due to the long queues at security checks.
Mr McQueen continued: “The ongoing recruitment of additional staff is allowing us to increase our focus on these areas and passengers are starting to see standards improve once again.”
He said DAA was striving “to get back to the excellent standards that Dublin Airport was renowned for prior to the pandemic” and thanked passengers for their patience.
Asked if Ms Naughton was satisfied the issue of cleaning at the airport had been resolved, a Department of Transport spokesman said: “Ministers are continuing to engage with DAA regularly on these matters.”
He said DAA had a plan to improve the passenger experience including in the area of cleanliness of the airport.
Measures are said to include the set-up of a management task force for cleaning duties in key passenger areas and engagement of third-party deep-cleaning specialists.
