Dublin Airport at 5am!

MuffinsDa

I have a ridiculously early flight out of T1 tomorrow which means I have to clear security by 5am.

How is the passenger/security queue traffic normally at that time? I don't mind coughing up for fast track if it speeds things up but last time I got one the normal lines were actually shorter. Anyone with experience of regularly flight out at that hour?

Thanks!

hardCopy

You might get a quicker answer in the Aviation and Aircraft forum. There are a few airport staffon there.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=905

LXFlyer

What time is your flight departing at?

MuffinsDa

5:40 am. If it happens at all (LH strike shenanigans).

January

hardCopy wrote: »

You might get a quicker answer in the Aviation and Aircraft forum. There are a few airport staffon there.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=905

According to the charter, those types of questions are not for the Aviation forum and the more established members there jump on questions like these to be moved over here.

LXFlyer

MuffinsDa wrote: »

5:45 am. If it happens at all (LH strike shenanigans).

Well then, would advise being at the airport no later that 04:15.

The entire EI and FR Dublin based short haul fleets all start moving from 06:00, and it's the busiest time of the day at the airport.

Your flight is the first of the day but you need to leave at least 90 minutes if checking in online, and leave another 15-20 mins if you have bags to check in.

The flight is actually at 05:40!

MuffinsDa

Gee man, you are very conservative, I wasn't planning to even leave home till after 4:15 and I'm 35 minutes away from the airport.

I fly every other week with BA to London usually on 07:00am flight, and normally leave home at 5:30, get to the airport and 6:05 and by the time I get to the gate I still have a long wait till they board. Is that time (i.e. going through security at 04:45-05:00 instead of 06:00) significantly different/heavier? I was planning to be at the airport at 04:45ish for 5:40 flight. Boarding pass says boarding at 5:10, 25 mins to clear security and get to the gate should be enough unless really busy time - which brings me back to the original question: is it a very busy time, and would there be much difference with Fast Track?

fits

In my opinion you will be fine if you get to terminal 1 hour before takeoff. Lh prob use nearest gates too.

LXFlyer

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Gee man, you are very conservative, I wasn't planning to even leave home till after 4:15 and I'm 35 minutes away from the airport.

I fly every other week with BA to London usually on 07:00am flight, and normally leave home at 5:30, get to the airport and 6:05 and by the time I get to the gate I still have a long wait till they board. Is that time (i.e. going through security at 04:45-05:00 instead of 06:00) significantly different/heavier? I was planning to be at the airport at 04:45ish for 5:45 flight. Boarding pass says boarding at 5:10, 25 mins to clear security and get to the gate should be enough unless really busy time - which brings me back to the original question: is it a very busy time, and would there be much difference with Fast Track?

I am conservative, yes, quite simply because it's the single busiest time of the day at the airport.

There are 20 flights departing T1 before 07:00 (most before 06:45) compared with 7 in the next hour, so clearly security will be busier.

I'd rather be early, have time for a coffee than be in a panic and nearly missing a flight.

90 minutes allows you that flexibility.

MuffinsDa

Thanks, ordered fast track for 4:45, will probably leave home around 4:00, airport at 4:35, should have plenty of time then.

Mr rebel

How much does fast track even cost?

LXFlyer

Mr rebel wrote: »

How much does fast track even cost?

€5.95 and includes a free Irish Times.

coylemj

Yes the airport will be busy but they will probably have all the security lanes in operation which is what I found back in early October in T2 at 6:30 a.m. on a Thursday when there was no queue whatsoever to show your boarding card to the first official. I was ushered into the security zone where I noticed that every single scanner was in operation and was waved to a scanner where there was all of two people ahead of me, both of whom looked like frequent travellers so there was no fiddling with jewellery, liquids, laptops etc. and I got through security in a grand total (from coming off the departures floor) of less than three minutes.

The way people talk here, you'd think there was a fixed number of security lanes so the more flights that were leaving in the next hour, the longer the queues, it's not like that at all. I have found longer queues at 'quiet' times of the day when there's only a small number of lanes in operation and you have more infrequent travellers who mess things up for everyone because they don't know the rules.

Eugene Norman

lxflyer wrote: »

I am conservative, yes, quite simply because it's the single busiest time of the day at the airport.

There are 20 flights departing T1 before 07:00 (most before 06:45) compared with 7 in the next hour, so clearly security will be busier.

I'd rather be early, have time for a coffee than be in a panic and nearly missing a flight.

90 minutes allows you that flexibility.

6-7 is very busy but this is the first flight.

Eugene Norman

coylemj wrote: »

Yes the airport will be busy but they will probably have all the security lanes in operation which is what I found back in early October in T2 at 6:30 a.m. on a Thursday when there was no queue whatsoever to show your boarding card to the first official. I was ushered into the security zone where I noticed that every single scanner was in operation and was waved to a scanner where there was all of two people ahead of me, both of whom looked like frequent travellers so there was no fiddling with jewellery, liquids, laptops etc. and I got through security in a grand total (from coming off the departures floor) of less than three minutes.

The way people talk here, you'd think there was a fixed number of security lanes so the more flights that were leaving in the next hour, the longer the queues, it's not like that at all. I have found longer queues at 'quiet' times of the day when there's only a small number of lanes in operation and you have more infrequent travellers who mess things up for everyone because they don't know the rules.

I've taken 40 minutes to get through security. Admittedly that was before T2 and the new security lines in T1 and just after new rules about liquids etc came in.

In that case I barely made the flight so I tend to be conservative.

Mr rebel

lxflyer wrote: »

€5.95 and includes a free Irish Times.

Thanks

LXFlyer

Eugene Norman wrote: »

6-7 is very busy but this is the first flight.

Yes but while the flights are virtually all between 06:00 and 06:45 - that means that those people will be going through security from 04:00 onwards.

coylemj wrote: »

Yes the airport will be busy but they will probably have all the security lanes in operation which is what I found back in early October in T2 at 6:30 a.m. on a Thursday when there was no queue whatsoever to show your boarding card to the first official. I was ushered into the security zone where I noticed that every single scanner was in operation and was waved to a scanner where there was all of two people ahead of me, both of whom looked like frequent travellers so there was no fiddling with jewellery, liquids, laptops etc. and I got through security in a grand total (from coming off the departures floor) of less than three minutes.

The way people talk here, you'd think there was a fixed number of security lanes so the more flights that were leaving in the next hour, the longer the queues, it's not like that at all. I have found longer queues at 'quiet' times of the day when there's only a small number of lanes in operation and you have more infrequent travellers who mess things up for everyone because they don't know the rules.

I'm only quoting my own experience - I am always slightly conservative when travelling - I always allow 75-90 minutes before a flight - I got caught out once before turning up 60 minutes beforehand and nearly missed a flight which could have caused serious problems for me.

Hence I don't think those kind of times are unreasonable.

coylemj

Eugene Norman wrote: »

I've taken 40 minutes to get through security. Admittedly that was before T2 and the new security lines in T1 and just after new rules about liquids etc came in.

In that case I barely made the flight so I tend to be conservative.

You put three qualifiers on that statement ... (1) before T2 (2) before the new lines in T1 and (3) before the rules about liquids..... yet you're allowing that bad experience to dictate how much time you leave before your flight several years later

I can understand how some people are more conservative than others but I fail to see why they should try to impose that level of worry and anxiety on others and I don't mean you Ixflyer, I mean people who suggest 2-3 hours before a European flight. 90 minutes before is perfectly good as far as I'm concerned.

LXFlyer

coylemj wrote: »

You put three qualifiers on that statement ... (1) before T2 (2) before the new lines in T1 and (3) before the rules about liquids..... yet you're allowing that bad experience to dictate how much time you leave before your flight several years later

I can understand how some people are more conservative than others but I fail to see why they should try to impose that level of worry and anxiety on others and I don't mean you Ixflyer, I mean people who suggest 2-3 hours before a European flight. 90 minutes before is perfectly good as far as I'm concerned.

LXFlyer if you please!!! (Check your airline codes!!). ;-)


Absolutely agree with what you're saying - 75-90 minutes is what I'd allow. Anything more than that is madness. That sort of timeframe allows for problems en route and for queues at the airport (if they happen).

Eugene Norman

coylemj wrote: »

You put three qualifiers on that statement ... (1) before T2 (2) before the new lines in T1 and (3) before the rules about liquids..... yet you're allowing that bad experience to dictate how much time you leave before your flight several years later

I can understand how some people are more conservative than others but I fail to see why they should try to impose that level of worry and anxiety on others and I don't mean you Ixflyer, I mean people who suggest 2-3 hours before a European flight. 90 minutes before is perfectly good as far as I'm concerned.

I didn't give any times merely suggested I was conservative. I'm also aware of my qualifiers since I put them in. Things have got better but it could still go tits up.

Your experience is like the guy who sailed through the M50 once at rush hour and therefore thinks nobody should anticipate a slowdown on that road, ever.

As it happened I aimed to be at the airport about 1 hour before until my 40 minute delay, now I give about 10 more minutes. This generally means waiting at the gate but it reliably gets me where I am going, which is important for work.

JCX BXC

Was it worth it?

ninebeanrows

Looks like the Op is off to Frankfurt

Departed at 5.57

fits

Its always a balance between wasting too much time at airport and not rushing. I got to Dublin airport at 9am last tuesday for a 9.50 flight. Dropped bag, went through security, got a coffee and relaxed a bit at the gate. I have use of fasttrack though. And the gate was a 300 gate so not a long walk. If I wasnt so sure of where I was going Id leave 90 minutes.

MuffinsDa

Greeting from Kiev, where the weather today is far worse than Dublin

I left home at 04:00, got to the airport at 04:35, went straight through fast track and was airside before 04:45 so ended up hanging around the airport for a good while until it departed around 06:00.
Normal queues were quite quiet as well, I would have been definitely fine without fast track, I'm not even sure it made much difference but I at least have the Irish time.

Connection at FRA was sh1t. Very long walk between gates including a Skytrain journey and a lengthy, inefficient and undermanned security check again (all for connecting at the same terminal). Never thought I'd say this: I think Heathrow is a far better airport for connections nowadays!!!!

fits

I HATE connecting in Germany. Not well set up for non Schengen to Schengen at least. Id agree on Heathrow being better.

eeguy

I've often got 6am flights and the airport is fast enough at 4am.

There's plenty of staff on to deal with the rush.