COVID documentation checks at Dublin Airport are now “fairly lackadaisical”, according to passengers arriving into the country.
Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie travelled to the airport yesterday to find out what the experience is like travelling to and from Ireland.
While he spoke to some passengers who had all their documentation checked, others said all they needed to fly was their passport.
“We are residents of Ireland and we went to Edinburgh for the weekend,” said one couple.
“We flew back this morning. We weren’t asked for any documentation over there and then when we arrived back in Dublin, we were just asked for our passports not our passenger locator form.
“In Scotland, we didn’t need any documentation at all – not even a passport.”
Another couple who travelled from Ireland to Norway said the experience was “easier than expected” – with more questions asked in Oslo than Dublin.
“It felt a bit lackadaisical to be totally honest,” they said. “We practically walked straight through and just had to show the passport.”
Spot checks
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, travel expert Eoghan Corry said airport generally operate a spot-check system – meaning not everyone will be asked for their forms.
“Much the same as any of the documentation you need for international travel, they tend not to check everybody,” he said. “When they do check everyone, it can be pretty grim.
“I was caught in a two-and-a-half-hour queue in Faro going out to that match that was going so well for us for 87 minutes.
“But most of the time it is spot-checks. They will probably profile people coming through and people they think mightn’t have the form filled out, they will check that. That applies in every country I have been through.”
Penalties
He said many people upload their COVID documentation while checking in with tickets checked for documentation as you board as well as when you arrive.
“If everybody was checked, as occasionally happens, it does slow things down immensely,” he said.
“Most of the time, the airport operates with spot-checks and the consequences of not having it filled out are very, very high. That goes in both directions.”
He said checks in North America can be more rigorous with airports in both the USA and Canada checking every single document on some days.
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