Dublin airport overcrowding measures delayed

A new marquee to cope with overcrowding at Dublin airport will not be available this summer as planned because the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) did not know it needed planning permission for the structure.

The DAA intended to erect the marquee with a capacity of more than 1,000 on the roof of a multistorey car park to accommodate passengers delayed by unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather, aircraft problems or industrial relations issues.

It was due to be in place for the peak summer travelling period of July and August, when about 90,000 passengers are expected to use the airport each day.

However, the DAA is only submitting its planning application to Fingal County Council today.

The earliest date by which the council is likely to decide on the application is August.

However, the planning process could stretch into September or even later.

An appeal to An Bord Pleanála is possible and could mean that the marquee would not be built this year.

A spokeswoman for the DAA said it had announced plans for the marquee last April in the belief that it would not require planning permission.

"Under the Planning Act there are some temporary structures that don't need planning permission and we were forging ahead on the basis that we didn't need permission. Then we discovered that we did."

The planning requirement only came to light in recent weeks following talks with the county council, the spokeswoman said, and work on preparing the application began immediately.

The marquee was not intended to deal with day-to-day capacity issues, but was designed to help the airport cope with unforeseen overcrowding, she said.

"This was just a contingency measure because at the moment the airport cannot cope with large unexpected numbers of passengers within the main terminal, but it was only ever intended to be temporary," she said.

She added that an alternative building which could accommodate between 300 and 400 delayed passengers was currently being refurbished.

She added that the renovation of the basement of the main terminal to provide an additional 26 check-in areas is due to be completed in December.

This will free up space in the main departures area and reduce overcrowding, the spokeswoman said.