Staff shortages that caused chaos for passengers at Dublin Airport before the summer could be repeated this Christmas, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has warned.
The DAA - which operates the airport - has said it is seeking to recruit 500 staff to cope with up to 90,000 passengers per day, which would make this its busiest Christmas in three years.
But there are fears that the capital's housing crisis is limiting the DAA's ability to recruit the workers needed to cope with the influx.
O'Leary spoke of his worries during an appearance before the Oireachtas Transport Committee yesterday, telling politicians: "We are concerned that there may be security shortages and staffing shortages this Christmas."
Last year, 850,000 people travelled through the airport during the two week Christmas period, but the pre-pandemic travel figure was 1.5million and this year's number could be higher still.
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Airlines and airports across Europe came under pressure last summer after they cut jobs during the depths of the Covid crisis, before travel demand returned quickly post-pandemic.
The Ryanair boss told politicians: "To be fair to former DAA chief executive Dalton Phillips and his team, last summer they threw labour at it, they got away with it by the skin of their teeth after a very poor March, April, May.
"But we're not out of the woods yet and we are very concerned about the Dublin Airport staffing this Christmas."
As well as the usual expats travelling in and out of Dublin, there will also be a surge in people heading for sunny climes. About 41,000 people from Ireland are expected to visit the Canary Islands this month, up by 5% on three years ago and 13,000 more than last December, according to the islands' tourism agency.
Travel agents have reported a general boom in demand for sun and ski holidays this Christmas, as well as a rise in family reunion travel, following the Covid restrictions of recent years.
According to DAA, in December 2019 – Dublin Airport’s record December in terms of passenger numbers – the busiest days saw throughput of c.90,000 passengers.
The airport has seen over 40 days year to date with more than 90,000 passengers, including 20 days since July. The airport says virtually all passengers have passed through security screening in well under 30 minutes since July.
Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson has raised concerns that Dublin's housing crisis will hamper recruitment efforts.
He told the Oireachtas committee: "Here in Ireland, I would say the absolute number-one blocker for getting people here is accommodation.
"There is no accommodation, there is zero accommodation, and in the Swords area yesterday there was about six houses for rent. I never thought we'd have a situation where we can't get people to come to Dublin because they have nowhere to live."
Fine Gael TD Kieran O'Donnell, chairman of the Transport Committee, said he would write to the DAA to quiz the company over whether it had sufficient staff for the upcoming Christmas and Easter periods.
Darren O'Rourke, Sinn Féin's transport spokesman, has said it is important that the DAA does everything in its power to avoid a repeat of what happened during the summer.
The DAA has said that, like many other operators in the fast-recovering Irish aviation space, including Ryanair, it is actively trying to fill a number of vacancies.
Spokesman Graeme McQueen said: "DAA continues to recruit, as it has done continuously over the past 12 months, for a number of roles at Dublin Airport.
"Our concerted recruitment campaign, including our recent Jobs Fair which attracted more than 800 potential candidates, is aimed at generating a strong pipeline of potential candidates for the roles we have available, enabling us to meet both the current and future needs of the business."
Paul Hackett, president of the Irish Travel Agents Association and chief executive of ClickandGo.com, said he believed the DAA would not risk a repeat of the summer chaos. He added that bookings for holidays over Christmas were strong, buoyed up by the fact that people no longer have to obtain Covid tests or fill in complicated pandemic travel forms.
"The Canaries are doing really well, because there is a lot of capacity on flights with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus. I have friends out there now and they are posting photos which would make anyone back in the Irish climate weep. What's not to like?" Hackett added.
The Oireachtas Transport Committee had met to discuss Ireland's National Aviation Policy, and had sought Ryanair's insight on how the industry is responding to the current challenges, and how the Government could help the sector.
