Dublin Airport - Terminal 2 - how long are security queues?

Unshelved

Is there a website or a twitter feed with up to date information regarding queues for luggage drop and security in Dublin airport?

I've tried the Dublin Airport website and can't seem to see anything.

We're flying out mid-morning on Monday from Terminal 2 and just wondering how much time we should allow.

Jamie2k9

Mid morning shouldn't be to bad to still allow 90 minutes before your scheduled flight.

coylemj

The answer to the question in your first line is 'no'.

They vary the number of active lines based on the number of outgoing flights in that period of the day so even though some times are busier than others, you could be waiting longer at a quiet time of the day if there aren't enough security staff on the lines.

There are other variables that can't be predicted such as a large number of unprepared or infrequent travellers who set off the scanners with liquids or metal and who hold everyone up, you can't really predict how many of this type of person will fcuk up the queues.

If you're dropping a bag but not doing US pre-clearance, I'd allow at least a full hour between your departure time and when you arrive at the airport.

schemingbohemia

My experience of Terminal 2 is that I've never had any real sort of a wait to get through, certainly at that time you shouldn't. Of course, as pointed out you could just end up unlucky and be in the queue behind a gobdaw who has a geansai load of liquids in their bags, doesn't take their jacket off, keeps their laptop in the bag until they're told to take it out - don't be that guy.

I'd avoid queueing behind people with kids, people who look as if they're nervous or haven't flown before, and women over 60 oh and skangers too.

ProudDUB

OP, I'd give yourself a minimum of 90 minutes. Your bum has to be in your seat & the gates are closed for boarding, roughly 20-30 minutes before the departure of the flight. So that only leaves you an hour or so to play around with. There could be delays to drop bags off, if you are doing that. There could be delays to clear the boarding pass check. There could be delays to go thru security. There is generally a 10-12 minute walk to get your gate. If all those factors are in play (and there is no way of knowing if there will be or not) even having an hour, could be pushing it a bit tight. I generally give myself 2 hours, and if I have to spend half that time sitting drinking a cuppa, well so be it.

coylemj

ProudDUB wrote: »

Your bum has to be in your seat & the gates are closed for boarding, roughly 20-30 minutes before the departure of the flight.

Since when?

ProudDUB

coylemj wrote: »

Since when?

I am not going to dig up the details for when each and every airline close their gates for boarding, but as an example, this is taken directly from the Ryanair website. I'd be surprised if other airlines had hugely different polices on the matter.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/what-time-do-i-have-to-be-at-the-boarding-gate

What Time Does the Boarding Gate Close?

You should be at the boarding gate at least 30 minutes prior to departure. Boarding closes 20 minutes prior to departure. Your valid travel document and boarding pass must be produced at the boarding gate.

coylemj

ProudDUB wrote: »

Well, I am not going to dig up the details for when each and every airline close their gates for boarding, but as an example, this is taken directly from the Ryanair website. I'd be surprised if other airlines had hugely different polices on the matter.

The other airlines do have different policies, they clean the planes between flights for starters.

I'm not surprised that Ryanair have the policy you quoted, that's because they disembark passengers at one end while boarding at the other at the same time - ok slight exaggeration but you can't use Ryanair's policy as a benchmark for any other airline.

Yamanoto

coylemj wrote: »

you can't use Ryanair's policy as a benchmark for any other airline.

Actually, you can.

EI have practically the same stipulation, with the exception that they close the gate a little closer to push-back.

Boarding Times
Aer Lingus advise all passengers to be at the boarding gate at the latest 30 minutes prior to departure.

...Closing Times of boarding gates is 10 minutes prior to departure.

ciaran76

So if you are flying from Terminal 2 I guess it wont be Ryanair you are flying with.
I would give it 90 mins max. I assume you have printed your tickets and not queuing at the check in desk also.
From my experience:
If there is a sporting fixture on in Dublin the day before be careful as there could be extra flights added on. Then go earlier.
Monday mornings lots of people go to Europe or UK for meetings etc so it can be quite busy.
All flights to the US are quite early usually between 9am and 11am at terminal 2 also so there could be a big crowd of US tourists going home but generally I find they go home more on a Sunday morning.

coylemj

Yamanoto wrote: »

Actually, you can.

EI have practically the same stipulation, with the exception that they close the gate a little closer to push-back.

Could you provide a link to that please...

Aer Lingus advise all passengers to be at the boarding gate at the latest 30 minutes prior to departure.

Yamanoto

coylemj wrote: »

Could you provide a link to that please...

http://www.aerlingus.com/help/help/airportinformation/

Boarding Times

Aer Lingus advise all passengers to be at the boarding gate at the latest 30 minutes prior to departure.

Boarding of Aer Lingus flights commence at the times outlined below:

Ex Ireland, United Kingdom and Europe: 30 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.

Ex Rome and Amsterdam : 40 minutes (this is due to long distance from check-in to boarding)

Ex USA: 45 minutes

Closing Times of boarding gates is 10 minutes prior to departure.
Passengers arriving late to the boarding gate will not be accepted for travel.

coylemj

Yamanoto wrote: »

http://www.aerlingus.com/help/help/airportinformation/

That is seriously buried where very few people are going to see it.

The first flights of the day might board 30 minutes before departure on account of the requirement to make your slot in Heathrow but after the first rush in the morning, things settle down and boarding is a lot more civilized.

I can't remember ever boarding a short-haul Aer Lingus flight 30 minutes before departure or anything like it.

Maybe it's a symptom of the recession but I remember a time when there was no way you'd arrive at the gate 30 minutes early for the simple reason that there would be an earlier flight departing from the same gate.

schemingbohemia

coylemj wrote: »

That is seriously buried where very few people are going to see it.

The first flights of the day might board 30 minutes before departure on account of the requirement to make your slot in Heathrow but after the first rush in the morning, things settle down and boarding is a lot more civilized.

I can't remember ever boarding a short-haul Aer Lingus flight 30 minutes before departure or anything like it.

Maybe it's a symptom of the recession but I remember a time when there was no way you'd arrive at the gate 30 minutes early for the simple reason that there would be an earlier flight departing from the same gate.

But the advice is to be at the boarding gate 30 minutes beforehand, it's not stating that you will board then.

coylemj

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But the advice is to be at the boarding gate 30 minutes beforehand, it's not stating that you will board then.

They also recommend that you check-in a whole two and a half hours before departure time for short-haul flights - just plain barmy!

Flights: Short-haul routes (Depart and arrive within Europe)
Check-in closes: 45 mins before departure
Recommended: 2.5 hours before departure

http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/knowbeforeyoufly/check-in/check-intimes/#d.en.6200

yew_tree

Anybody recommend how long you should arrive at airport for a 9:00am flight to Newark?

Id imagine security and customs clearing would be busy early in the morning?
Would aiming for a 6:30am arrival there be too early?

schemingbohemia

No I definitely don't think it would be too early, could be a little close if anything.

yew_tree

schemingbohemia wrote: »

No I definitely don't think it would be too early, could be a little close if anything.

6:00am so

In 10 flights I've never seen boarding start before the supposed gate closing time.

ciaran76

yew_tree wrote: »

Anybody recommend how long you should arrive at airport for a 9:00am flight to Newark?

Id imagine security and customs clearing would be busy early in the morning?
Would aiming for a 6:30am arrival there be too early?

I have taken the 9:30am flight to Atlanta 6 times in the last 6 months and I get there at 7:30am. I have always flown on a Sunday.
I don't shop or do duty free and have always been just fine.

Yamanoto

schemingbohemia wrote: »

But the advice is to be at the boarding gate 30 minutes beforehand, it's not stating that you will board then.

On EI, it does state boarding will commence 30 mins prior to departure.

Ex Ireland, United Kingdom and Europe: 30 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure.

http://www.aerlingus.com/help/help/airportinformation/

bumper234

coylemj wrote: »

They also recommend that you check-in a whole two and a half hours before departure time for short-haul flights - just plain barmy!

Flights: Short-haul routes (Depart and arrive within Europe)
Check-in closes: 45 mins before departure
Recommended: 2.5 hours before departure

http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/knowbeforeyoufly/check-in/check-intimes/#d.en.6200

They recommend this because after you check in you have to pass through security and depending how busy it is this could take an hour or more.

coylemj

bumper234 wrote: »

They recommend this because after you check in you have to pass through security and depending how busy it is this could take an hour or more.

An hour? I think along with the the other scaremongers that pop up every time this topic comes up, you are talking based on theory rather than experience.

bumper234

coylemj wrote: »

An hour? I think along with the the other scaremongers that pop up every time this topic comes up, you are talking based on theory rather than experience.

I work for the Irish Aviation Authority and travel through Dublin airport at least twice a week. I think i may know a little more than your average "scaremongerer" about this. Also why do you feel the need to argue with every poster??

ProudDUB

This poster checked in 95 mins before their flight, and they still missed it due to the long queues at the security and boarding card checks.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=83950701

I doubt if they would take too kindly to being called a scaremonger, if they decided to pop in here and give their opinion of how long the OP should give themselves at the airport. :rolleyes:

As the OP asked the question that they did in the first place, I am going to presume that they are an infrequent flyer thru T2 and/or Dublin Airport. When I am traveling thru an airport that I am unfamiliar with, I would always err on the side of caution in how much time I give myself. Advising the OP to do the same is a very good idea, and is far short of scaremongering imo.

Advising them to over look stated airline & airport policy on the matter, and leave themselves a lesser amount of time, that will only work if the queues are non existent, is rather foolhardy. It is even more so considering that the summer time is generally Dublin Airports busiest time of year. The queues will generally be the longest that they will ever be, this side of Christmas.

zagmund

It's fair to say that boarding time is variable. The "gates close <x> minutes before departure time" warning is there to give the airlines some comfort if they need it. The warning is of no value to passengers. I've been on several flights when the incoming flight wasn't even on the ground <x> minutes before the outgoing one was scheduled to depart. I would like to see them close the gates in that situation.

In an ideal world (which we don't live in) the gates close <x> minutes before take off to allow all the requisite checks & actions take place before take off. These include the safety checks, passenger counts, taxiing to the runway, etc . . . none of which can be done while the gates are still open.

In general terms, it's always better to err on the cautious side and be early looking at an empty gate rather than late looking at an empty gate. The problem for many people is that it's not always practical to be early. It would be good to have a minimum allowable time, but that is just not going to happen. I suppose one way to think of it is this - when you go to the theatre you allow yourself a certain amount of time to park the car, walk to the theatre, queue up, give your tickets in, find your seat, etc . . . knowing that the curtain goes up at 2000 and if you are there later than that you won't be allowed in. There's always the possibility that you get stuck in traffic, or spend ages looking for a parking space and are late. The difference in this case is that you can go to your seat after the first act in a theatre, but in an airport your seat is moving away from you at a couple of hundred miles an hour and getting in late isn't an option.

z

anne burnell

was at the airport in terminal 2 last week and queue at security was fairly busy at 9am... approximately 50 people...We used the fastpass (airport genie) and it was brill, just went straight through... was well worth the E4.90 each which included a free coffee... gave us plenty of time in duty free and to chill airside with a coffee....

rainbow kirby

I've had anything from 1 person in front of me to a 40 minute queue in Terminal 2. Can be very variable - the shortest one was on the Friday of a rugby weekend, and the longest one was at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon!

helimachoptor

Hey folks, have a flight with EI @ 6:50 am on Friday morning. Just have carry on.

Plan to arrive @ 6am, is that too tight?

jt_dublin

I was on a 7am flight last friday and the queues were lengthy enough but moving. I had the Airport Genie fast track pass so bypassed all that. Costs 5.95 but you get a free coffee (any size)

schemingbohemia

helimachoptor wrote: »

Hey folks, have a flight with EI @ 6:50 am on Friday morning. Just have carry on.

Plan to arrive @ 6am, is that too tight?

I'd want to arrive earlier myself. If you go with airport genie that would help but you say you plan to arrive at 6am do you usually stick to your plans? Not being smart but unless you've an easy guaranteed quiet and quick route to terminal 2 nothing should be taken for granted, but that's just me.

helimachoptor

schemingbohemia wrote: »

I'd want to arrive earlier myself. If you go with airport genie that would help but you say you plan to arrive at 6am do you usually stick to your plans? Not being smart but unless you've an easy guaranteed quiet and quick route to terminal 2 nothing should be taken for granted, but that's just me.

I'm in T2 for a lot of 7:30/8am flights and normally get through screening in about 10 mins.

I may arrive 5:45 just to be that bit cautious

Penalty

A trick going through security us to pick the right line. For some reason at busy times all the queues start at roughly the same point - yet the actual X-ray machine is a lot further away for some queues perhaps more than twice the distance and hence twice the time.

I travel nearly every 2nd week and for a European trip arrive roughly 1 hour before flight. If checking in bags I'd give it another 15 - 20 mins.

Have never come close to missing a flight.

Shannon Control

Would getting through the entrance at 5:20 be enough to catch a T2 6:40 flight? Should be ok just want to confirm, haven't flown T2 early morning in a while.

Eponymous

Yeah, you'd be fine with that. Passed through on 1st November at 5:30 for a 6:50 flight. It took around 20-25 minutes to clear through security and the queues were the worst I've seen in T2 (maybe due to bank holiday). Impossible to pick a line as there seemed to be muppets in every line that needed to be told about liquids, shoes, belts and tablets/laptops...

I even heard a couple behind me (not much older than me either) figuring out how they'd sneak their phones through as they saw a sign overhead for no mobile phones or cameras. I had to explain that it just meant they couldn't use them in the area, not that they were forbidden... Very relieved they were.

spurious

Eponymous wrote: »

Yeah, you'd be fine with that. Passed through on 1st November at 5:30 for a 6:50 flight. It took around 20-25 minutes to clear through security and the queues were the worst I've seen in T2 (maybe due to bank holiday). Impossible to pick a line as there seemed to be muppets in every line that needed to be told about liquids, shoes, belts and tablets/laptops...

I even heard a couple behind me (not much older than me either) figuring out how they'd sneak their phones through as they saw a sign overhead for no mobile phones or cameras. I had to explain that it just meant they couldn't use them in the area, not that they were forbidden... Very relieved they were.

Do you think the sort of people described above (and the airport is infested with them) haven't flown before, have flown before but pay no heed to anything going on around them, or are just thick?

I would hate to have them ahead of me in an emergency evacuation of a plane.

coylemj

spurious wrote: »

Do you think the sort of people described above (and the airport is infested with them) haven't flown before, have flown before but pay no heed to anything going on around them, or are just thick?

You meet people everywhere who lack the skills of basic co-ordination and organisation, it's just that they really only affect you directly when you find yourself behind them in the security queue in an airport.