'It's been a nightmare': Woman stuck in Dublin Airport after security alert cancels flight

Ellen O'Donoghue

A woman who was at Dublin Airport when Terminal 2 was evacuated due to a security alert caused by suspicious baggage on Saturday has described the experience as "a nightmare."

Donna, who spoke to BreakingNews.ie from Dublin Airport on Saturday night, was supposed to be flying back to the US after holidaying in Europe for the past two weeks, and was on a layover in Dublin when the terminal was evacuated.

"We were escorted out, and the whole day there's been no announcements, no direction to us other than some yelling," she said.

"We were told to evacuate, to which we all complied, but thousands of people in one line after the other, after the other... we're here now, thousands of people, still wandering around.

"There's no hotels, nothing," she said on Saturday night, and the next flight she will be able to get is on Monday.

The airport and airline failed to offer any accommodation, Donna added, "and we're just left here to fend for ourselves."

Terminal 2 is still "full of people," according to Donna, who spoke to BreakingNews.ie after 9.30pm on Saturday.

"Everybody's like, 'Where are we going?', 'What are we doing?', 'What's happening?', and then it took, all of us got notifications on our phones to say our flight was cancelled and there would be no compensation, and we were basically left on our own."

Airport employees were not aware of Donna's flight being cancelled, she said, they "didn't even know what was going on".

"We all feel kind of left here, and there's so many people who can't afford accommodations for three days," Donna added.

She was keen to stress, however, that she and those she has spoken to at the airport are aware that "what happened was beyond anybody's control whatsoever."

Regardless, though, she said, "there's a mass of people here... to get an email that says you're not going to be accommodated at all, and there's no assistance whatsoever for people who can't afford to get their own accommodations, it was, to me, pretty insensitive".

The operator of Dublin airport, Daa, has been contacted for comment.

Gardaí said members responded to a report of an item of airline luggage of concern.

“As a precaution, Terminal 2 Dublin Airport was evacuated and traffic entering Dublin Airport was restricted,” the force said.

“An Garda Síochána requested the assistance of the Defence Forces’ explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team.

“Following a preliminary examination on scene, the piece of luggage was contained and deemed safe for removal from T2 to an alternate location which would not impact on airport operations.”

The Garda spokesperson said the luggage at the centre of the situation was subject to further examination by the EOD team and declared safe.

They said inquiries were continuing and added: “Based on the information available to An Garda Síochána and other relevant stakeholders, this was an appropriate and responsible approach to the situation which was presented.”

In a statement at 1.30pm, airport operator DAA said that flight operations were expected to resume within the next 30 minutes.

"Earlier, Terminal 2 was evacuated as a precaution. The safety and security of passengers and staff remain our top priority," it said.

DAA advised that temporary disruption to flights may occur, so passengers have been advised to check with their airline for the latest updates.

The evacuation is not thought to be connected to a separate software issue affecting some airlines' check-in systems. However, the suspected cyberattack is having a minor impact in Dublin and Cork.

Some airlines have implemented manual processes there.