Able to accommodate up 15m passengers per year, the terminal has been designed around the needs of customers at what is now the tenth largest airport in Europe for international traffic.

“The opening of Terminal 2 will transform the travel experience throughout Dublin Airport and will offer passengers the type of facilities, comfort and space they have been seeking for many years,” said Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) Chief Executive Declan Collier.

Extensive operating trials

The opening follows an extensive period of operational trials involving DAA, airlines, ground handlers and other agencies. Over the past four months, more than 3,000 volunteers have participated in public trials of the new terminal. A 1,200 person trial held in September led to a ‘world-class’ review from independent travel site TripAdvisor.

A particular feature of the facility is the US pre-clearance facility, which allows fliers to be treated as domestic passengers when they land in the US. Dublin and Shannon are the only airports outside North America and the Caribbean to provide this facility.

According to Gordon Wilkinson, Arup’s project director for Terminal 2, “Designing an airport terminal to host an average of 30,000 passengers a day is no mean feat, as is managing the development close to another remaining in constant use. However the rapid turnaround of the planning and construction process set a new standard for similar projects in the future.

“Achieving seamlessly excellent service levels for passengers has been central to the design of T2, and the pre-clearance process for travellers to the US is a particularly innovative example. Baggage checking, IT and security have been designed to achieve this.”