Horrible airport experience.

If Dublin Airport accepts overnight transfer passengers, it should have a process in place for handling them. Instead, we were told we couldn’t remain in the airport, then discovered security was closed and we couldn’t re-enter for hours. That left dozens of travelers stranded with nowhere to go during an overnight layover.

To make matters worse, airport staff were waking up exhausted passengers who had managed to find a spot to rest on chairs or the floor. If there are no sleeping facilities available and passengers are stuck waiting overnight, what exactly are they expected to do?

The lack of information was just as frustrating as the situation itself. There was little guidance about where transfer passengers should go, when security would reopen, or what options were available. The entire experience felt disorganized and poorly planned.

This is many visitors’ first impression of Ireland, and unfortunately it leaves a very poor one. I’ve traveled through plenty of airports, and I’ve never experienced an overnight transfer process this confusing or inconvenient.

If Dublin Airport cannot accommodate transfer passengers after midnight, airlines and the airport need to stop scheduling connections that leave travelers stranded overnight.

One final note: to the café staff waking sleeping passengers, please don’t physically touch people you don’t know. A verbal wake-up is more than sufficient, and the last thing exhausted travelers need is a stranger putting their hands on them.