The Dublin Airport Authority said on March 20 that it "is subject to regular, independent, national and international oversight of our compliance with stringent security requirements" and is "fully engaged continuously to ensure that the appropriate safety and security standards are always in place".
The statement came after the Irish Independent newspaper reported that a protected disclosure from an airport "whistle-blower", alleging that security at the airport was "not fit for purpose", was handed to Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan in 2022.
The airport said it "never comments on matters of a security nature for obvious reasons given that aviation security aims to prevent acts of unlawful interference, by keeping threatening items such as arms and explosives away from aircraft" or on "frequency, nature or findings of any audits or investigations for similar reasons to avoid sharing intelligence on such matters in any medium with those who might seek to bring about such unlawful acts".
Dublin is the headquarters of Europe's biggest airline, Ryanair, and a base for many of the world's biggest aircraft leasing businesses. The airport sees around 30 million passengers a year and was Europe's 15th-busiest in 2022, according to aviation analytics provider Cirium.
However it was widely criticised by passengers in 2022 for long queues at security checks as it struggled to cope with traffic reviving after two years of pandemic restrictions. In early 2023 the airport and the Irish government was criticised by Ryanair over repeat incidences of drone-flying nearby that resulted flight cancellations and the re-routing of inbound traffic.