Aer Lingus wants early airport arrival advice scrapped

Dublin Airport's advice to arrive early for flights should be scrapped as it is creating unnecessary congestion, Aer Lingus has said. The airline's CEO Lynne Embleton said people were turning up early for flights later in the day and competing with passengers who were dropping off luggage for early morning departures. She was speaking at the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) Committee on Transport which met with Dublin Airport stakeholders on Tuesday. The committee discussed recent issues ahead of the bank holiday weekend. Dublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison said current advice would remain in place. This includes the advice for passengers to arrive two-and-a-half hours before a short-haul flight, three-and-a-half hours before a long-haul flight and an hour earlier if dropping off luggage. The airport also told members of the committee that significant improvements had been made since May, when there were major queues. These include a "far more robust" security screening process and on a "sustainable footing." The committee also heard that Aer Lingus currently has 1,200 "open files" relating to missing baggage. Embleton said in a majority of cases Aer Lingus did not touch the bags. She said most bags went missing when they were being transferred from another airline to Aer Lingus. She added that under-resourcing at airports in terms of ground handlers contributed to the problem.<br/>