Work will begin in February on a €55 million extension to the existing terminal at Dublin Airport following Monday’s decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for the project.

The 7,500 square metre extension, which will be built at the north-western corner of the terminal, will provide more circulation space for passengers, an enlarged and reconfigured check-in area at the northern end of the terminal, and additional retail space. The new extension, which is part of the DAA’s €2 billion Transforming Dublin Airport investment programme, will dramatically improve the passenger journey to both Pier A and the recently opened Pier D.

Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) Chief Executive Declan Collier welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve the project but noted that it came a full year after the company had lodged its original planning application for the extension. “We are committed to providing better facilities and more space for our customers at Dublin Airport,” Collier said. “Pier D has set the standard for the new Dublin Airport and the extension to Terminal One will match it in terms of delivering a quality environment for passengers,” he added. 

Work on the extension will begin shortly. The first elements of the new facility will be available for use early next year and the extension will be completed by the summer of 2009.

At departures level, the extension will provide space for a reconfigured check-in Area 13 with 20 check-in desks – a 25% increase on the current Area 13 layout - and significant additional circulation space for passengers. The extension will create an enlarged security screening area and a much larger circulation area for passengers en route to Pier A and Pier D. The new extension will also provide an enhanced and expanded airside retail and food and beverage offering.

Passengers will enter this new area from the Pier A end of the existing retail ‘Street’ at Dublin Airport. A glazed wall at the rear of the new extension means the new airside space will be bathed in natural light and feature views out onto the airfield. The extension will sit on 30 concrete columns above ground level so that the apron area below the building can be retained for use by ground handlers and other aviation related services.

The DAA will not be seeking any increase in airport charges to pay for this €55 million investment, as the new facility will be self-funding due to the additional retail income that it will generate. Dublin Airport, which receives no state funding, and the DAA  says that it has the lowest charges of any major European airport.

Terminal One is being expanded to help cope with the growth in passengers departing from the northern end of the terminal. More than 12 million people are expected to use Piers A and D this year and the new extension will offer additional space for passengers departing from the A and D gates. “This extension will radically improve the travel experience for the bulk of our short-haul passengers,” according to Collier.

The Terminal One extension will be delivered on a phased basis with the first elements of the facility available for use in early 2009. The DAA received planning permission for the Terminal One extension last April, but this was appealed by Ryanair, the Portmarnock Community Association, and a local resident.

"The extension to Terminal One is part of the DAA’s €2 billion Transforming Dublin Airport investment programme which is designed to expand, improve and modernise Dublin Airport,” Declan Collier said. A new €150 million boarding gate facility Pier D opened in October, and last Spring the DAA delivered a new check-in facility in the lower ground floor of the existing terminal. More than half of the landside catering outlets have been upgraded and revamped in recent months and Dublin Airport has also replaced its entire fleet of luggage trolleys with a new improved and lighter trolley.

Work on Terminal Two, the centrepiece of the Transforming Dublin Airport programme, started in October and the €395 million new terminal will open to the public in April 2010. The overall T2 project, which includes a new boarding gate facility Pier E, a new energy centre and an upgraded campus road network, will cost €609 million.