Pier D at Dublin airport to open this weekend

Dublin airport is to begin the phased opening of its €120 million Pier D on Sunday next, with six of the planned 12 new boarding gates opening for passenger traffic. The new pier is to be connected to the existing terminal building by a dramatic, curved 350 metre “skybridge” which will provide passengers with bird’s- eye views of the original central terminal building. Designed by architects Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the new 15,000 sq m Pier D is glass-walled and gives uninterrupted views over the airfield. It is 350 metres long and provides for the segregation of incoming and outgoing passengers – a feature which is not available at the A gates in the existing terminal. The skybridge will replace a much criticised prefabricated walkway to temporary boarding gates which are used mainly by Ryanair passengers.

The Irish Times