The DAA is hoping to provide new baggage services at Dublin Airport in time for the summer.
It is tendering for an operator to provide luggage weighing and wrapping services at both terminals at the gateway. The operator is also expected to offer left luggage services and sell luggage-related accessories.
The airport is gearing up for a busy summer as a post-Covid surge in travelling continues. Last year, 28.1 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport. That was a 231pc increase on 2021 and represented 85pc of 2019 passenger numbers.
The DAA has told prospective operators for the baggage services that Dublin Airport is the “key economic driver” for Ireland, “and this has been a key focus for recovery of destinations and traffic as the emergence from the pandemic continues”.
“As 2023 progresses, Dublin Airport is expected to continue to recovery to pre-pandemic levels, with 45 airlines and more than 180 destinations offered by year-end,” it adds.
“Europe and North America remain the key growth markets in the near term, with transferring passengers through Dublin providing additional demand for direct routes, particularly to the USA,” the tender documentation notes.
The airport is expected to handle 31.1 million passengers this year, which is 95pc of the level reached in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
The figure is projected to hit 33 million next year, and 37 million by 2028.
It is envisaged that the baggage services concession being offered at the airport will offer a number of options for travellers.
The DAA said that the services it expects, such as luggage weighing and wrapping, is not exhaustive.
The proposed retail locations and storage facilities will be located in main passenger flow areas in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2
“We are very interested in bidders proposing other potential services that could be provided,” it adds. Those services, it says, could include a luggage collection service, third-party lost and found services, sleep pods, concierge services, as well as the sale of tickets for attractions and travel.
The proposed retail locations and storage facilities will be located in main passenger flow areas in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Concessionaires typically have to pay a minimum fee to the airport operator.
The DAA notes in its tender document that if actual passenger numbers travelling through Dublin Airport, as calculated by the DAA, are more than 10pc less than the projected passenger numbers, a reduction in the guaranteed annual minimum sum shall apply.
For each percentage point over 8pc that the actual passenger numbers are less than the projected passenger numbers, there shall be a 1pc reduction in the guaranteed annual minimum sum.
Newly-appointed DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs recently told an Oireachtas committee hearing that security delays at Dublin Airport will not be repeated this summer.
“I am very confident that we have done everything we can and that the right focus is there to make sure we get there so that security is not an issue this summer,” said Mr Jacobs.