Thomas Lyons 
Dublin Airport will not be introducing charges for drop-offs anytime soon, according to DAA chief Kenny Jacobs. The airport authority received permission from An Bórd Pleanála to implement a new tolling system for motorists dropping off and collecting passengers. However, Jacobs has said that there are no current plans to charge people for drop-off, despite the planning permission. The focus for the airport is to look at the ramp up and ramp away from T1 and T2. Jacobs made the comments on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
Jacobs also reassured passengers that there will not be a repeat of the queues and hundreds of missed flights experienced last year. He stated that the airport is in a good place for the upcoming summer and that traffic volumes will be close to 2019 levels. During the Easter period, 92% of all passengers travelling through the airport got through security in 20 minutes, which is about 100,000 people a day. Jacobs is confident that the airport will be busy but that passengers will get through security in less than 20 minutes.
In response to the recent incident where a man boarded a flight without a boarding pass or passport, Jacobs said that the incident “should not have happened”. However, he reassured the public that he is happy with the security levels at the airport and the oversight that is in place to ensure security is in the right place.
When asked why he did not appear before an Oireachtas Transport Committee recently, Jacobs explained that he was at the committee only 11 weeks ago and that it is a very busy Easter period with 100,000 people going through Dublin Airport each day. He also highlighted that the American president was in the country for four days last week. Jacobs is a big fan of Oireachtas oversight and has said that he will go in there at the earliest possible time once they are through the peak of the season.
