Dublin Airport has opened a new €16m (US$18.2m) facility designed specifically for passengers that 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.
The new building has the capacity to welcome four times more connecting passengers than currently being handled.
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.
Vincent Harrison, managing director at Dublin Airport, said, “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.
“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.”
The new three-story facility features airline information desks, boarding card checkpoints, and 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 was delivered by Flynn Management & Contractors and is part of Dublin Airport’s €100m (US$114m) investment program this year.
Harrison added, “Dublin Airport has many advantages as a gateway between Europe and North America for transferring passengers. Our location is perfect, we have strong transatlantic, short-haul and Middle Eastern connectivity, and US preclearance provides passengers traveling to the USA with a wonderful product that allows them to arrive as domestic passengers in the States.”
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, which was 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.
