{"id":639296,"date":"2026-08-15T22:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/639296\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T22:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T22:28:18","slug":"behind-the-scenes-at-cork-airport-meet-the-workers-who-get-your-holiday-off-to-a-flying-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/639296\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the scenes at Cork Airport: Meet the workers who get your holiday off to a flying start"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cork Airport is a small airport with a big personality. In 2025, Airport Council International named it the best airport in Europe in the under 5m passengers category \u2014 the third time it has won this award.<\/p>\n

The award focuses on operational efficiency, route development, sustainability and innovation, and the passenger experience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see why the airport has won this award multiple times. \u2018We care about our passengers\u2019 may as well be hanging from a giant banner in the foyer. The ethos is everywhere you look.<\/p>\n

It begins in the car park where car park manager Bernard Dooling says: \u201cWe\u2019d never leave anyone without a space. Even if someone hasn\u2019t booked a space online and just turns up on the day, we\u2019ll find a space for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A typical day will also see the team patrolling the car parks, keeping an eye out for any issues, like a window left open in a car (which they promptly tape up to make sure it isn\u2019t exposed to the elements), or an item left forgotten on a kerb (which they rescue and catalogue in the lost property office).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t believe the stuff people leave behind,\u201d says Dooling. \u201cWe\u2019ve found a bird cage and a box of mackerel outside in the drop-off area. Best we can imagine is that someone took them out of the car boot to fit luggage in and simply forgot them!\u201d<\/p>\n

The lost property office is like a theatre props department. Cupboards and drawers are full of phones, tablets, chargers, earphones, scarves, hats, jumpers, jackets, jewellery, walking sticks \u2014 dozens of them \u2014 and, incredibly, three guitars.<\/p>\n

\"CorkCork Airport Parking attendant Bernard Dooling. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

\u201cWe catalogue all the items and keep a note of where and when they were found. People can submit a claim online or come in person to pick up items. We keep everything for three months; you can see the number of items here, we simply don\u2019t have the space to store them long-term. Then we donate what we can.\u201d Items like phones and tablets are destroyed after three months because of GDPR rules, he explains.<\/p>\n

For Dooling\u2019s team, it\u2019s a busy job. There are three car parks at Cork Airport, providing 4,600 parking spaces. An extension to the Blue car park, due to be finished this month, will provide an additional 650 spaces. \u201cThere are the constant comings and goings, and the phone is always ringing with people asking about parking, looking for lost property, looking for assistance. It\u2019s all go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new initiative to build a solar farm over the Blue car park will be finished by summer 2027. It\u2019s set to be Ireland\u2019s largest solar-powered car port system and will generate 20% of the airport\u2019s electricity.<\/p>\n

A helping hand<\/p>\n

OCS provides assistance to passengers with reduced mobility as they make their way through the airport. Derek Murphy, OCS operations manager based in Cork Airport, says that, each day, around 140 people require assistance. Last year, the team assisted 36,000 people and they expect to help 40,000 in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"DerekDerek Murphy, Operations Manager for Cork Airport on behalf of OCS (One Complete Solution). Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are pre-advised, in that they\u2019ll have booked assistance through our app. You can potentially add another 10% that haven\u2019t been pre-advised to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The app, developed in conjunction with Cork Airport, is called PRM Assist. Murphy says it\u2019s the most important innovation he\u2019s seen in his 24 years working in this area. \u201cPeople can use it to book assistance, but also, it means their family can track their journey through the airport and know that they got to the plane safely.\u201d Murphy calls what they do \u201cseat-to-seat\u201d. His team of 22 full-time and 10 part-time staff bring passengers from departures all the way to their airplane seat. \u201cIf they arrive into Cork, we bring them from their aircraft seat all the way through to their taxi, bus, or car seat.\u201d It is a very rewarding job, says Murphy, who regularly provides assistance himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that the operation can ever be run from behind a desk,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Citing new EU legislation that mandates free-of-charge assistance at airports and on board aircraft, Murphy says: \u201cIt really has opened up the door to travel for people \u2014 the elderly, the disabled, those with hidden disabilities.\u201d You don\u2019t need to provide any documentation to get assistance at Cork Airport, explains Murphy. \u201cYou might feel unwell on the day of your flight and might need help making your way to the plane, that\u2019s fine, we can help with that too.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, Cork Airport was the first in Ireland to introduce the sunflower lanyard, which helps passengers discretely show that they may need assistance. \u201c[The lanyard] is bringing that hidden disability to the forefront. All staff are trained and know that if a passenger is wearing the lanyard they may <\/p>\n

have a hidden disability or intellectual difficulties, and to manage or deal with the passenger in a sympathetic way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018During peak season, 10,000 people pass through security each day\u2019<\/p>\n

One of the busier areas of the airport is security screening. Airport search unit supervisor Brendan Boylan says over 6,500 people pass through every day. \u201cIn August, on our busiest days that number goes up to about 10,000 per day.\u201d The early morning shift tends to be busiest, says Boylan. \u201cThat time between 5.45am and 7am we could have 1,200 people going through screening.\u201d<\/p>\n

During those busy times, four security lanes will be open, with 17 security staff on the floor. One of those is Hazel Forde, who has been working as an airport search unit officer for about a year. Her intense training, a mix between classroom and practical training with repeated exams in search, X-ray image interpretation, bag search, access control, and general airport security, prepared her for the job, she says.<\/p>\n

The team is also tested a couple of times each month with a \u2018mystery\u2019 passenger posing as a security threat with a bag containing various prohibited items. This is to ensure that the team are always on their toes, explains Boylan.<\/p>\n

A strict 20-minute rotation at each station is also designed to make sure security staff retain concentration. \u201cThe X-ray role is intense, high-focus work,\u201d says Forde. \u201cIt\u2019s mentally demanding, especially trying to understand the images you\u2019re seeing. I think people would be surprised what\u2019s involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boylan explains that the difficulty is that the X-ray only shows shapes and densities; when objects overlap or are packed awkwardly, even ordinary things can look unclear, forcing staff to stop the belt, rescan, and physically search the bag.<\/p>\n

For Forde, who used to be a nervous traveller, working in security screening has given her insights that have changed how she travels. \u201cThe longer I\u2019ve worked here, the more organised I\u2019ve become. I know now a lot more what to expect and what not to do, what not to bring.I\u2019m a lot more comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people find the airport quite stressful. Sometimes they can lose their head a little bit. But we try our best to be friendly, be relaxed, and let them know what to do,\u201d says Forde.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a good team on, you can have a giggle with the passengers. It does relax them and we can get them through as quickly as possible. It\u2019s a team effort,\u201d adds Boylan.<\/p>\n

Just shy of 3.5m passengers passed through the airport last year, up 12.8% on 2024. It\u2019s a constant stream of people departing or arriving into Cork. If they\u2019re arriving, they will pass through customs after they collect their suitcases in the baggage hall.<\/p>\n

Rua, the dog star of Cork Airport<\/p>\n

Here they may encounter Olivia O\u2019Connor, a customs dog handler, and her dog Rua.<\/p>\n

Rua is a four-and-a-half-year-old Sprocker, a cross between a Springer Spaniel and a Cocker Spaniel. He\u2019s striking to look at, and excellent at his job.<\/p>\n

His main task is to detect passengers trying to bring cannabis or large quantities of tobacco or cash into the country. John Adams, the airport\u2019s customs manager, explains that, since December 2023, Irish rules on bringing back cigarettes from the EU have tightened. \u201cFrom an EU country like mainland Spain, you can only bring 800 cigarettes and 1kg of tobacco.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Adams, Customs Manager at Cork Airport and Olivia O\u2019Connor, Customs dog handler; and Rua, Customs detector dog. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Any more than that and Rua will be on your case, literally. To detect contraband, Rua walks along lines of bags and passengers, sniffing as they pass.<\/p>\n

If he sits, points and refuses to move, O\u2019Connor knows there is likely to be cannabis \u2014 or a significant quantity of tobacco or cash \u2014 nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are training the dog on either cash or tobacco, you train them on the scent first, but you don\u2019t reward them on small amounts,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat means that Rua won\u2019t stop at somebody who has a pouch of tobacco \u2014 but if there\u2019s 10 or 20 pouches, that\u2019s a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same logic applies to money: \u201cIt\u2019s the amount. The volume of it. Sometimes you\u2019ll see him stop at a wallet, then he\u2019ll just go, \u2018No, not enough\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams recalls a funny incident where Rua stopped in front of a man\u2019s suitcase and his young daughter piped up saying, \u201coh look daddy, Rua has found your cigarettes!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OliviaOlivia O\u2019Connor, Customs dog handler; and Rua, Customs detector dog. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

In all seriousness, Adams says having Rua and Merlin, another customs dog who sniffs out Class A drugs, dramatically cuts down on the time people would have to queue if they were going through an X-ray machine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were checking those bags, if we had to X-ray every one of those bags, it would be so slow,\u201d he explains. \u201cWhereas Rua will just walk past and go, \u2018no, no, no, keep going.\u2019 It cuts down an awful lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re there, Rua makes several \u2018finds\u2019. Those passengers are passed over to the customs team who do a deeper investigation.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, who has been a customs dog handler for over 20 years, proudly tells me that Rua is excellent at his job and works between Cork Airport and Cork Port. \u201cHe\u2019s had unbelievable detections,\u201d says O\u2019Connor. \u201cTrailers full of cigarettes and recently a concealment under the floor of a trailer that held over 100kg of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OliviaOlivia O\u2019Connor, Customs dog handler; and Rua, Customs detector dog. Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Rua is her sixth dog. \u201cHe lives with me, and when the dog retires, they stay with you as well. So I have two retired dogs at the moment at home, and Rua.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a clear bond between the two. While O\u2019Connor was having her photograph taken, I looked after Rua, who did not take his eyes off her for a second.<\/p>\n

Far from being intimidated, passengers\u2019 faces light up when they see Rua. \u201cWe\u2019re not there to frighten the people at all, so if someone is afraid of dogs, for example, they can tell us and I\u2019ll walk Rua around their bag rather than up close. But by and large, most people are happy to see him, he changes the atmosphere in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying airports can be stressful places. But with a bit of levity at the right time, a focus on passengers, and a friendly customs sniffer dog, Cork Airport is doing its best to make the experience that little bit easier to manage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cork Airport is a small airport with a big personality. In 2025, Airport Council International named it the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[4488,9,10,18,13,14,6,19,2902,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-639296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-irish-examiner-instagram","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-insight","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117101888854520850","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}