Dublin Airport Departures (DUB)

Flight Departures at Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport is among the ten busiest airports in Europe, with over eighteen million passengers per annum. It is significant in terms of international passenger traffic, and rated as the largest airport on the island of Ireland, larger than Belfast International Airport and the airports of Cork and Shannon. With the code of DUB, it is located just 10km from the city center of Dublin, in Collinstown, and passengers can easily reach their departure flight by several modes of transport. Dublin departures are offered by many important airline carriers, to a wide variety of destinations around the world.

Passengers on departure from Dublin have the choice of arriving by bus, taxi or private vehicle, but not by train, as currently there is no direct rail link to the airport grounds. There may be the possibility of a future underground rail link which will be referred to as the Metro North line. Until then, over 700 buses per day take passengers to the airport, from the city and from all towns nearby. The Airlink (Dublin Bus) 747 runs from Dublin city's railway stations, known as the Connolly Station and the Heuston Station. Further bus services are operated from Dublin by Aircoach, Flybus and Urbus, and buses with intercity services calling at Dublin Airport are operated by Ardcavan, Aircoach, Bus Eireann, Citylink, Dublin Coach, John Mcginley, JJ Kavanagh, GoBus and Wexford Bus. Buses travel from areas which include Cork, Wexford, Limerick, Athlone, Portlaoise, Waterford, Wicklow, Maynooth and Swords. A taxi from the city center will cost approximately 20.00 Euro.

Departing passengers can also easily travel to the airport in a private vehicle, as there are main roads which pass by the airport and plenty of parking spaces outside and nearby the terminals. The M1 is the major highway running past Dublin Airport, and it is linked to the M50, which is the city’s ring road. The ring road is in turn linked to the M3 to Kells, the M4 and M6 to Galway, the M7 to Limerick (just past Portlaoise the M8 turns south towards Cork and at Newbridge the M9 continues to Waterford) and the N11 to Wexford. From the north, the M1 can be taken from cities as far as Belfast in Northern Ireland. There are short-term multi-storey car parks for Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and two long-term car parks with over 12,000 spaces for either terminal. Arrive at the airport in good time for your departure flight, as it could take up to twenty minutes for transfer by shuttle bus from the long-term car parks. It is recommended to arrive at least 90 minutes before your scheduled flight departs, and even earlier if flying internationally, if special assistance is required or if you are travelling with young children. Confirm the check-in times of your airline carrier before leaving for the airport, and check as well that your flight is on time.

The airport has two terminal buildings, and from both, departure flights are operated. Terminal 1 has been in existence longer than Terminal 2, and has regularly been extended and improved over the last two decades. It also received a new Pier in 2007 to the north of the building which now caters for the majority of Ryanair flights. Ryanair is Europe’s largest low-cost airline carrier, and Dublin Airport is the headquarters for this company. Ryanair offers flights to Spain (Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid), London, Italy (Rome-Ciampino, Pisa, Milan) and to France (Nantes, Paris, Tours). There are flights to many other destinations as well. The airport is also the headquarters of Aer Lingus, Ireland's flag carrier and the regional airline carrier Aer Arann. Terminal 1's new pier has a 15,000 square metre departure area, with parking for up to fourteen aircraft, and is linked to the main terminal via an elevated Skybridge. Terminal 1 is mainly used for short-haul flights, and the airline carriers present here include Aer Arann, Aer Lingus Regional, Air Canada, Air France, Air Italy, BH Air, Blue Air, BMI, Flybe, Germanwings, Iberia, Lufthansa and Lufthansa Regional, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Swiss International Air Lines, Thomson Airways, Tunisair and Turkish Airlines.

The check-in desks of Terminal 1 are located on the first floor of the building, in the Departures Hall. Certain airline companies may also offer self-service check-in desks and the opportunity to check-in online. There is a self-service post unit on the departures, floor, a left-luggage facility in the Short-Term Car Park Atrium and a wide selection of airport shops and restaurants, including (before passenger security screening) Spar, the Eason Book Store, Wrights Food, the Bagel Factory, Starbucks, McDonalds, the Skyview Bar and Upper Crust, and after the security checkpoints, Boots, Fusion, the Guinness Store, World of Travel, Champion Sports, the Caviar House, Apron Bar, Burger King, Café Select, The Food Hall and the Butlers Chocolate Café, as well as many more. There are also meeting room facilities and comfortable VIP lounges for business travelers.

Dublin Airport departures for long-haul flights are mainly offered from Terminal 2, which is one of the most recent developments of the airport. It is 75,000 square meters in size and cost 395 million Euro to build. The terminal can handle up to fifteen million passengers per annum, which raises the airport’s total capacity to 35 million per year. A new Pier E has also been build perpendicular to Terminal 2, with boarding gates 401 to 426. Terminal 2 is where passengers will go for Aer Lingus departure flights, as well as flights by American Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, United Airlines, US Airways and Delta, and some of their destinations include Washington, Newark, Philadelphia, Dubai, Atlanta, New York and Athens. The most popular long-haul destination is New York, and the most popular international destination is London. In 2010 and 2011, the airport handled just over 18 million passengers, but in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, it handled over 20 million passengers.

The check-in desks of Terminal 2 are located on the ground floor of the building, with the Aer Lingus desks to the west of the terminal, in Areas 29 – 56. The check-in desks of the other airlines are found in Areas 1 – 28. Airport facilities at Terminal 2 are extensive as well, and include currency exchange services, internet access points, a pharmacy, a multi-faith prayer room and VIP suite facilities. Plenty of shops and restaurants are found on either side of security, and in what is known as "The Loop" Both terminals are fully accessible to disabled passengers, and there are various help points from where passengers can request assistance.

Live Dublin departures can be found online, or further details regarding airport services is available at the following telephone number: +353 (0)1 814 1111.