Cold weather causes havoc at Dublin Airport with long delays
The cold-snap has wreaked havoc on many passenger's travel plans.
The status yellow weather warning has come to pass, with much of Ireland waking up to snow and ice this morning.
As a direct result of the wintery conditions, multiple flights have been delayed today at Dublin Airport, primarily due to complications with de-icing planes prior to take-off.
The process of de-icing an aircraft is not directly undertaken by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) itself, but rather the individual airlines or their own contracted handling agents.
You can check the most up-to-date info on your flight at https://t.co/NbQYOb4ilE. pic.twitter.com/jv3IiWBETV
— Aer Lingus (@AerLingus) March 9, 2023
Foreseeing the possibility of long delays due to de-icing capabilities at the airport, Aer Lingus released a statement yesterday evening.
"Due to adverse weather conditions and potential significant snow accumulations across the country, there may be potential flight delays due to aircraft de-icing. We encourage all customers to allow adequate time to arrive at the airport", the airline said.
Despite the occurrence of snowfall and icy conditions at the airport overnight, the DAA stated this morning that the runways and taxiways, which it resides over, were "clear of snow and fully open".
The de-icing of planes has been the main factor in causing delays.
Speaking to the cold-snap and the impending delays it would induce, a DAA spokesperson said that "Dublin Airport's dedicated snow and ice teams remain on standby to ensure that Dublin Airport remains open and operational. They are also assisting airlines and their handling agents as they attempt to de-ice their aircraft. As always, passengers should check with their airline for the latest flight information regarding their specific flight".
However, in defiance of the airport's best attempts, many passengers have still seen their travel itineraries scuppered by delays.
Paul O’Loughlin-Kennedy, who was speaking on 'Today with Claire Byrne', was due to fly to London this morning and boarded his flight at 7.30am.
Phoning into the radio show at 11am, Mr. O'Loughlin-Kennedy was still sat on the runway at Dublin Airport, and said that "at about 7.40am, the pilot said to use we’re all ready to go, we’re just waiting for the plane to be de-iced. At this stage, we’re still waiting here in the apron at Dublin Airport".
Worrying amount of snow and sleet in #DublinAirport this morning. All earlier flights are delayed and nothing has taken off yet 6am. I’ve had this situation before, no one tells us how many hours delay there will be because they don’t know themselves. 😱#DUB pic.twitter.com/J6Ex6bSddK
— alan (@r0thar) March 10, 2023
During the interview, it was also said the pilot had told passengers that there are usually three de-icing machines in use at Dublin Airport, but that currently only two were operational.
Irritated by the experience, Mr. O'Loughlin-Kennedy added "We’ve been told about this big snow coming for about at least a month and you’d really have thought that they’d of got all the equipment operational by now".
With temperatures set to rise through the course of the afternoon though and with no further snow forecast, there are hopes that the delays experienced by passengers today will not roll on into the weekend.
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