Dublin airport Terminal 1 arrival?

tinytobe

The arrival experience at Dublin airport Terminal 1 was recently rather strange.

I've went up and down stairs to make it to passport control, the whole situation looked rather poorly planned. There were maybe 5 or 6 booths for passport officers, one was open, all booths looked rather old and shabby.

Then in the baggage claims area, it looked even worse, like nothing was changed 30 years ago.

It made me wonder, why this is still being used? One get's a very bad first impression of a city or country. Does Dublin airport have any plans to change this? I remember this also from 25 years ago and it seemed as bad back then, even worse, it hasn't changed until today....

In comparison, I also arrived once at Terminal 1 ( certainly not Terminal 2), but the experience was more modern, automatic passport readers at immigration and a decent looking baggage hall area.

Astral Nav

Who might be the largest airline customer at T1?

NSAman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563667#Comment_121563667

Who owns all the infrastructure….? Doesn’t matter who the largest airline customer is!

I agree T1 is a disgrace, but they have a great outside smoking area unlike T2..😀

EchoIndia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058329318/dublin-airport-terminal-1-arrival

It's still being used because the airport needs the capacity. It sounds like you came in through the 300-gates area, which is still much as it was in the 1980s. I think the DAA has plans to refurbish T1 but the situation as regards planning permission and timeline for the work I am not sure of. No doubt it's all there somewhere for those who wish to trawl.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563667#Comment_121563667

I arrived on a KLM flight, not Ryanair, if that's what the question really is.....

bikeman1

You came in via the oldest gates in the airport. But they also have some of the shortest walks post security or as you experienced on arrival.

Just because something is old, doesn’t mean it won’t work. Many airports around the world use old terminals still.

You are literally passing straight through that whole area and are then in the main baggage hall for T1 a few seconds after stepping off the plane.

john boye

I arrived at those 300 gates a while ago and was surprised when I got to passport control. Had no idea they were still in use. Was really cool to see a part of the airport I hadn't seen in about 2 decades

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564133#Comment_121564133

It was never about things not working. The immigration officer was actually nice and friendly.

It's just the impression one gets when one comes into a new country. The whole thing has a bit of a 3rd world flair, at least what style and layout is concerned.

Realt Dearg Sec

Doubt anyone gives a sh1te to be honest, they are going to be much more bothered when they get outside and try and get transport into town.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564408#Comment_121564408

That's another challenge, I agree.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564406#Comment_121564406

But it costs the airlines more to use the higher-specced arrival-departure stands — the per-passenger charge for the most expensive stands at DUB is between two and three times higher than the charge for the cheapest stands, and the parking charges for the aircraft vary similarly. So if the DAA upgraded these stands the airlines would have to pay more to use them (not least because that's how the upgrade would be financed) and — particularly the budget airlines — they wouldn't necessarily welcome that.

Remember, the DAA is required to operate on a fully commercial basis. It doesn't care about the impression people get when entering a new country; it cares about what its customers want and what they're willing to pay for it. Its customers are not passengers; they're airlines.

If the airlines want the stands upgraded, then they might be, depending on how that fits into the overall development plan for the airport and on whether the figures — the increased revenue versus the cost of the upgrade — stack up. But if the airlines like having a choice between more expensive, higher-specced stands and less expensive, lower-specced stands, then the DAA will keep the lower-specced stands to meet that demand.

IngazZagni

The post is referring to the 300 gates which is used by the likes of Aer Lingus, Emirates and Air France. So not the low costs like Ryanair. It just needs a face-lift which the airport is doing in stages. The benefit is it's the shortest walk to the exit of all gates at the airport.

Ultimately passengers just want things that work. Many wouldn't be willing to pay more to have a shinier looking terminal.

goingnowhere

Aer Lingus passengers arriving into 300 gates are routed to the T2 connector and avoid the ugly T1 baggage hall

If you think T1 is bad, try T2A in BCN arrival for a depressing experience, looks like its abandoned