Which Airlines Use Which Terminal At Dublin Airport?

Dublin is home to Ireland’s largest and busiest airport, which has recently been in the news following its strong start to 2023. With passenger numbers exceeding pre-pandemic levels and Ryanair operating its largest-ever summer schedule out of the Irish capital, a busy rest of the year lies on the horizon for Dublin Airport (DUB). With this in mind, let’s take a look at which airlines use which of its terminals.

Terminal 1 accommodates most carriers

Dublin Airport currently has two passenger terminals, which come from rather different eras, a fact that is reflected in their architectural contrasts. The boxy Terminal 1 recently celebrated half a century of operations, initially opening in 1972. Today, it handles the vast majority of the airlines that serve Dublin.

Ryanair is comfortably the largest carrier that uses Dublin’s Terminal 1 in terms of destinations served, offering a vast array of year-round and seasonal short-haul routes. TUI also has a significant presence, serving three Canary Island destinations all year and a host of other European hotspots on a seasonal basis. On a regional level, Terminal 1 handles Aurigny, Blue Islands, Eastern Airways, and Loganair.

Photo: 4kclips/Shutterstock

Other tenants include European giants Air France, British Airways, Finnair, KLM, and Lufthansa. Further afield, Terminal 1 also serves Africa (Egyptair), the Middle East (El Al, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways), and North America (Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet). In fact, all but five airlines use Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport.

Terminal 2 is something of a long-haul hub

Of the five carriers serving the modern Terminal 2, which opened in 2010 and features striking curved architecture, four do so on an exclusively long-haul basis. One of these is UAE flag carrier Emirates, which stands apart from its Middle Eastern counterparts by using this facility for its flights to Dubai International (DXB).

For passengers wanting to travel from Dublin to the US, Terminal 2 is the place to be. The United States’ ‘big three’ carriers all use this part of the airport, which features a US border preclearance facility in order to facilitate quicker exits from the airport upon arriving in the country. Shannon Airport (SNN) also has such an area.

Photo: abd/Shutterstock

Using Terminal 2, American Airlines flies from Dublin Airport to Philadelphia year-round, and Charlotte, Chicago O’Hare, and Dallas/Fort Worth seasonally. Meanwhile, Delta’s only seasonal destination is Atlanta, which it serves alongside year-round flights to Boston and New York JFK. Finally, United Airlines flies to Newark and Washington Dulles all year round, and Chicago O’Hare seasonally.

The home of the Irish flag carrier

The fifth airline based at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 is, of course, none other than Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus. The country’s national airline flies to both short and long-haul destinations from the Irish capital city on a year-round, seasonal, and chartered basis. According to Aer Lingus, it has 28 Terminal 2 check-in desks.

These account for almost half of those present in the facility, with the total figure being 58. The facility also boasts 9,000 square meters (96,875 square feet) of shops and restaurants, which passengers can access after passing through one of the terminal’s 14 security checkpoints. Arriving passengers are processed at 16 immigration desks, and reclaim their baggage from six high-density carousels.

Sources: Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport