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Behind the Scenes at Dublin Airport – what goes on beyond the terminal

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On Saturday, Dublin Airport invited some aviation enthusiasts and me for a look behind the scenes of what makes an operation like this tick.

I kindly accepted the invite – so here’s my photo-journal of a look behind the scenes of some of the things that go on beyond the terminal.

Behind the Scenes at Dublin Airport

a plane on the runway
From under Terminal 1 – a TAP Portugal Airbus A319 taxing in. 

And – there’s a lot more than you might think that goes on.

Our guide is Dominick from the Fire and Rescue Department at Dublin Airport, who kindly let us around the tarmac

a red and yellow van in a parking lot

Firstly on our tour … where did the Pope St John Paul II land at Dublin? There’s a mark to show where he did first touch Irish soil near the 200 gates.

a manhole cover on the ground

And a clearer shot -with thanks to Michael Kelly

a circular stone with text on it
Image – Michael Kelly

We’ll go on to Pope Francis later.

But for now, we headed onwards, through to the FOD section.

FOD (Foreign Objects and Debris) is an important thing that needs to be managed at any airport. The last thing you need is something like this blocking an engine, or damaging an aircraft (you’ll recall the incident that lead towards the Concorde crash was partially caused by a piece of metal that fell off another aircraft).

Therefore FOD management is important at any airfield or airport.Invalid request error occurred.

With FOD being a hazard, you have sweepers (both normal and magnetic ones) to keep the field and runways open.

an orange dumpster next to a fence and a large green airplane
Aer Linugs A320 “Green Spirit” taxing past.

Because – the last thing an airport wants to do is to close a runway and force diversions.

Birds can also be a cause of FOD too – especially when they decide that an engine is a good place to be drawn into. We’ll go into that later.

Our trip took us onto the main perimeter road of the airport (as it is today before the new runway sees service – hopefully by the end of 2021).

Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Dublin Airport - Image, Economy Class and Beyond

We were lucky enough to catch a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 coming in overhead as we were parked up.

an airplane flying in the sky an airplane flying in the sky a group of people in reflective vests standing on a sidewalk

The tour took us past one of the many rivers at Dublin airport. Yes – there are actual rivers at the airport… seven to be precise (that’s one for the pub quizzes people!)

It’s also a point to stop and look at the Snow handling fleet which keep the runways and taxiways clear when snow falls.

a group of yellow vehicles parked in a parking lot

With winter coming, the fleet is being prepared to handle operations such as deciding and ploughing in an organised fashion – again to keep the airport open and available to aircraft.

Speaking of birds, if you ever depart or arrive at Dublin airport, you’ll notice these kites in the sky.

a bird flying over a field

These help scare off some of the birds into changing direction – away from aircraft.

As we all know, bird strikes are a nasty thing when they happen, and can lead to very nasty accidents – therefore the management of the land is important, with grass being cut constantly.

But if you want to scare birds… there’s always the explosive option – primarily to make noise to scare off birds

And this does work.

a group of people holding guns
Loading the gun..

Whilst our tour was going on, Dublin Airport continued to function – serving its primary purpose as the gateway to Ireland.

a plane flying in the sky
Air Canada Airbus A330

an airplane flying in the sky
Aer Lingus Regional ATR72-600 

a plane on the runway
Swiss Airbus A321

a large airplane on a runway
Air Transat Airbus A310

a plane on the runway
Aer Lingus Airbus A320

an airplane flying in the sky
TAP Portugal Airbus A319

a plane flying in the sky
Air Arabia Airbus A320

Our journey takes us to the cargo pad, where an ASL Airlines Airbus A330P2F is awaiting delivery to Air Hong Kong to operate DHL services.

a plane parked on a runway
A FedEx Boeing 767-300ER Freighter

a white airplane on a runway  the side of a plane a white airplane with yellow tail and a yellow tail and a red and yellow vehicle the engine of an airplane

The engine was also wind-milling in the wind. A very interesting experience.

 

Our journey continues, as we cross into a very important part of the airport – the fire station. With a 3 minute response time, it’s a fast operation to handle fires, risks and other duties that need to be carried out by the teams.

a large green tank on a concrete surface

The training rig – simulating lots of different things from an prop plane to a turbofan power plane. Inside, it is configured with compartments for cargo, single aisle and wide-body too.

Both kerosene and gas fires can be set off here to put the fire team under pressure to resolve.

Near the fire station is the cargo ramp and parking area, where certain aircraft are unloaded or held.

a group of trucks parked in a parking lot
The two towers of Dublin Airport – the taller one is the new tower being outfitted for use.

a large green tank with fire coming out of it a large green tank on fire a large green tank on fire a smoke coming out of a tank a fire extinguishing a building a fire extinguishing a plane a jet engine on fire a jet engine spraying water a fire truck spraying water on a large green object

We were given a demonstration – and boy – those fires get HOT.

The brigade team works from dousing fire from the fuselage outwards, to reduce risk to the passenger and to cool the cabin down.

Also at the fire station is one of the more sobering parts of the tour – The remembrance garden.

a sign on a brick wall a group of flowers in front of a building

a group of flowers in front of a building

The cargo ramp is also where Pope Francis landed in Dublin when he visited Ireland.

a white and yellow square with a blue cross on it
Pope Francis landed here

There are also other aircraft parked here

a white airplane on a runway
ASL Airlines Boeing 737

a plane on the runway
Sprintair Saab 340

We were in for a treat – as air traffic control kindly allowed our convoy of two trucks to cross the active taxiway and apron back to the terminal – allowing us to cross behind an arriving Air France Cargo Boeing 777F.

a plane on a runway an airplane on a runway
Air France Boeing 777F

There was also a wait for an Ryanair Boeing 737 to cross too.  With that, our convey crossed towards the terminal area.

a man sitting in a car
Waiting for traffic to pass.

airplanes parked on a runway
Ryanair Boeing 737-800

a plane on the tarmac
Stobart Air ATR72-600
an airplane on the runway
Lufthansa Airbus A321neo

a group of airplanes on a runway
Terminal 1

We were kindly dropped off near arrivals – and for the last part of the tour, taken to the original terminal building. The building designed by Desmond FitzGerald takes its lines from Ocean Liners.

a tree in front of a building
The terminal building

a man walking in front of a building
The entry way

a plaque on a wall
The award winning plate

And as always – look up.

a room with stairs and a striped umbrella

a staircase with a large flag from the ceiling a flag from the ceiling

a group of people in a building
Visitors in reception (Spot the #avgeek’s from Twitter)

The building these days are primarily used for meetings as well as CEO offices. The Irish Meteorological agency keeps a presence on top. In addition, the tower is available as an emergency option if the main tower Dublin Airport goes offline.

And there’s one hell of a carpet.

Old Dublin Airport Terminal

Old Dublin Airport Terminal

Old Dublin Airport Terminal

With us in the board room, it was time for lunch kindly provided by the airport and discussion about the further runway, late night and early flying.

Old Dublin Airport Terminal
The board room

Old Dublin Airport Terminal
The view of the 100 gates from the board room

With the event drawing to a close, it was time to hand back security passes and hi-viz jackets, and head on our separate ways

For some, it was time to head home. For others. It was time to catch up over a coffee and unpack the day.

But it was a day not to forget.

Thank you to

Economy Class and Beyond would like to extend a warm thank you to Siobhán and Audrey (from the comms team) and Dominick (from the Fire and Rescue teeam) at Dublin Airport for opening up the airport and taking us behind the scenes at an airport they’re proud to work at.

 

Content notes

  • Pope John Paul II landing plate – image, Michael Kelly. Used with permission
  • Fire firghting video – Esssiejosie
  • Group photos courtesy Dublin Airport Communications And PR team.

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