Staff were criticised online on Friday morning following a bogus alarm activation.
Staff at Dublin Airport have spent Friday morning apologising to travellers following confusion caused by a faulty PA system.
Alarm was raised with those travelling through the airport after the broken PA system became stuck on evacuation mode, repeating the following automatic message:
“Attention please, attention please. We are responding to an alarm activation. Please evacuate this area immediately and follow the directions of airport staff.”
https://twitter.com/S3Clarke/status/1002421444578611200
Floor staff then assured those in the airport them there is “no evacuation”, confirming that the warnings were simply the result of technical difficulties.
The problem occurred in the departure gates area of Terminal 1.
After hearing news that the PA system was broken, a number of passengers took to social media to voice their opinion on the matter – claiming that the unfortunate mishap was dealt with poorly.
https://twitter.com/_simonwhelan/status/1002445890546741248
https://twitter.com/Scholarstown1/status/1002432406287200256
It’s like something from a sitcom. pic.twitter.com/fzjl9BTGj2
— Rory Millar (@roreyporey) June 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/Scholarstown1/status/1002421844757147648
Dublin Airport released a statement about the scenario on Twitter, announcing that repair on the broken system was currently underway and that there was no need for evacuation.
They also assured panicked passengers that there was no cause for concern.
There is a fault with our PA system at our Pier 1 gates @DublinAirport. The system is stuck on evacuation mode. There is NO evacuation of this area. Our sound engineers are currently investigating.
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) June 1, 2018
Their social media staff have since been responding to claims and queries one-by-one, ensuring that no real issue arose and everything is now running as normal.
JOE got in touch with Head of External Communications for Dublin Airport, Siobhan O’Donnell for comment, who confirmed that the fault is being investigated.
“There was a fault in our PA system in Pier 1 only. This happened just before 06.30 this morning,” O’Donnell began.
“We have standard operating procedures when a fire alarm is activated.
“The area is attended to by Fire Marshalls and Airport Police to investigate the cause of the alarm. It was quickly determined that there was no fire or cause for an evacuation however there was a fault with the PA system which was stuck on evacuation mode.
“We quickly deployed more colleagues to the area to reassure passengers and notify customers on our twitter account that there was no fire and no evacuation.
“The alarm was turned off at approximately 6.50am The cause of the fault is being investigated. There was no disruption to flight operations during this time.”
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