Things were supposed to be improving at DUB, but they haven't, not if this morning is anything to go by. We arrived at the airport at 0500 for an 0630 departure. The set down road was a complete shambles, they've painted "pedestrian safety zones" to replace the real pavement that used to be there, but they don't work, and cars parked at the entrance to the set down road meant that nothing much was getting in, so we abandoned the vehicle ( family member was dropping us off so we could do that), and walked in.
We were on this new FR on line web check in system. I am going to be discussing that in a LOT more detail with some highly placed people at DUB, in that as it worked this morning, the potential security breach that I predicted some time ago was all too possible.
We walked in to the terminal just as the C Pier end security gates were opening, which was just as well, the queue for the other end stretched the full length of the check in area. By luck and luck alone, and NOTHING to do with competent management of the situation, we were through the airside security check by 0510. As I mentioned, we were lucky, we were talking to the passenger next to us during the flight, he arrived at the airport at 0520, and got the the gate at 0620, for an 0630 scheduled departure, and several people in a considerable state of distress and undress arrived and boarded after 0630. We didn't push till 0650.
Now, to the issues. They have at last decided that they can scan shoes without them being removed, but trouser belts still seem to be beyond the technology!
The REAL HOLE. As I mentioned, we were on the FR "online" web checkin system, which in theory, could help. Problem was that if I'd chosen to give a copy of the boarding card to members of my family, and sent them through first, they would have been airside without being checked, as there was NO PHOTO / NAME ID CHECK AT THE AIRSIDE ENTRANCE where they scanned the boarding card to make sure it was valid. FUNDAMENTAL
GREAT HOLE in the system, which will have to be followed up with DAA and other agencies. All they did was scan the boarding card to make sure it was in the system, but they didn't validate the photo ID to make sure that they matched. That is a FUNDAMENTAL MASSIVE SCREW UP with enormous security implications.
They have a new pier in the middle of the airfield, A64 - A71. It's a LONG walk, not helped by massive congestion at the bottom of the short escalator into the "Old" A area, so it's a fight to get past that.
In our case, we arrived at A64 at 0530, so plenty of time for a relaxed drink. WRONG. The one and only hot drink vending machine was "out of order". There is also a coffee / sandwich bar out there. That was not open when we arrived, and eventually opened at 0600, after several flights had already boarded. At 0610, having queued for service, I asked for 2 coffees. "No, can't do that for at least 10 minutes, the machine's not on yet". Simple answer to that, "Forget it", we were due to board in 5. We started boarding at 0615, and eventually pushed at 0650, airborne 0710, arrived BRS 20 minutes late. To add insult to aggravation, FR could not change Euro currency on the aircraft, I tendered 5.50 for 2 coffees ( Yeah!!!), and didn't get the change I was due, "they had no change", on a Dublin based aircraft, on it's first flight of the day, and we were the first customers served.
All in all, if that's the way that things are going to be at DUB this summer, it will be worth looking at driving up to Belfast and flying from there to avoid the chaos that's only going to get worse!!!!! The new A64-71 area has 8 gates, so potentially 1600 passengers in the area. About 250 seats or thereabout, so potential for a lot of disattisfaction there too.
OK, DAA have still a mountain to climb to be even close to getting it sorted, and their track record to date is not encouraging. That's minor compared to the security issues, bearing in mind they've failed one audit not too long ago, and the knee jerk to that made it almost impossible to get through the place. Now, after "resistance" to the new FR check in plans, that's supposedly up and running. All it's done as demonstrated today is totally compromise airside security. That's NOT clever.
My big concern is that the web check in being used by FR is not secure, or, to be more accurate, as operated this morning at DUB, it's not secure. Given the rampant paranoia that surrounds everything to do with aviation now, that's NOT good, or helpful.