Dublin Airport has opened a new €16 million facility designed specifically for passengers who are transferring from one flight to another. Built adjacent to Pier 4 close to Terminal 2, the new transfer area will enhance Dublin Airport’s ability to compete for transfer traffic between Europe and North America and improve the quality of the product available for transferring passengers.
Vincent Harrison, Managing Director, said: “The new building has the capacity to welcome four times more connecting passengers than currently being handled. We have been growing Dublin Airport as a connecting gateway between Europe and North America steadily over the past five years and this new transfer facility will help us to further expand that business.”
The number of passengers transferring at Dublin Airport has increased from 550,000 in 2013 to almost 1.6 million passengers last year, and connecting passenger numbers are up a further 17% this year.
“Growing this part of our business is hugely important in helping us to expand our route network at Dublin Airport, as these additional transfer passengers underpin the viability of a route and also encourage airlines to launch new services and add capacity on existing routes,” Vincent added.
The new three-story facility comprises airline information desks, boarding card checkpoints, immigration and customs facilities for transfer passengers to complete a one-stop flight connection process within Pier 4. It also accommodates an additional access route for passengers bussed from other areas of the airport.
Completed in 14 months, the project is part of Dublin Airport’s €100 million plus investment programme this year. Designed to allow natural light flow through the building, the new transfer facility will soon feature an art installation inspired by the song 40 Shades of Green, written by Johnny Cash while on a trip to Ireland. This installation will form part of the airport’s ongoing Sense of Place project, which aims to provide passengers with a sense of Ireland’s culture and history while at the airport.
Dublin Airport is the sixth largest airport in Europe for flight connections to North America, and is drawing strong flows of transfer traffic from Britain and continental Europe. Dublin Airport’s top five transatlantic connecting routes are:
- Chicago – London Heathrow
- Boston – London Heathrow
- Boston – Paris CDG
- Amsterdam – New York JFK
- Boston – Manchester
