Trip Report DUB - AGP and AGP - DUB
It seems a while since I've published a blog post (even though the latest one was published in March of this year) so I thought I'd share my recent travel experience in this post. In this post you will get my experience of a flight from Dublin (DUB) to Malaga Costa Del Sol (AGP) as well as the return journey. I will also detail my experience at the airports at each end of the journey. I hope you enjoy this post and feel free to share your own travel experiences in the comments below.
Both of these flights took place in July 2026 with the reviewer sitting in economy.
Dublin to Malaga Costa Del Sol
Date: July 2026
Departure Airport: Dublin Airport (DUB)
Arrival Airport: Malaga Costa Del Sol Airport (AGP)
Airline: Ryanair (operated by Malta Air)
Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
We parked the car in the car park and took the shuttle bus to Dublin Airport Terminal 1. We didn't have any checked bags so we were able to head straight to security.
We had booked fast track security and it was very good. Fast Track at Terminal 1 was not just a separate lane beside other security lanes, instead it was a totally separate area. It was accessed by going up the stairs before the non-fast track security lanes. It was very good and very fast. I was through in under 9 minutes. This was helped by the fact that you could leave electronics and liquids under 2 litres in your bag. My bag was stopped because I had my selfie stick in my bag. The security agent took out the selfie stick, took a look at it before putting it back and letting me go.
After security we headed to the departure area and got something to eat. We then headed to our gate and once it was time, we boarded the aircraft.
The flight was a Ryanair flight, operated by Malta Air. On this journey we were flying on a Boeing 737 MAX 8. I was sitting in seat 6F - a window seat. In the overhead panel, there were individual lights and air vents.
We took off from Dublin Airport's North runway, runway 28R, about 30 minutes after our scheduled departure time.
The flight itself was uneventful. I did not purchase anything on board. After a flight of about 2 hours, 30 minutes we landed on runway 12 at Malaga and taxied to the gate.
Since we were sitting near the front of the aircraft we were some of the first passengers off. We entered the terminal and made our way to passport control. We did not have to use the new EES system but we still had to have our passports checked. Since we were one of the first off the plane there was barely any queue. I went to use the e-gates but there was apparently a problem when I tried to scan the passport and the machine told me to see an agent for a manual check. I was able to join the queue before it got too long but I think there were only two agents working and the queue for the manual passport check kept growing so they could definitely have put more agents on. There appeared to be quite a few people who went to use the e-gates and were told to go for a manual passport check although some people did get through the e-gates.
Once we got through passport control we didn't have to pick up any luggage so we just exited the terminal.
Malaga Costa Del Sol to Dublin
Date: July 2026
Departure Airport: Malaga Costa Del Sol Airport (AGP)
Arrival Airport: Dublin Airport (DUB)
Airline: Ryanair
Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
We arrived at Malaga airport and since we didn't have any hold luggage to check in we were able to go straight to security.
At security we had to remove electronics and liquids from our bags. Thankfully it didn't take very long and we were though in under 5 minutes.
After security we went through the shops and got something to eat.
Having heard reports that exit immigration had very long queues at Spanish airports we wanted to play it safe and went through exit immigration as soon as our gate was displayed. Thankfully there were only a few people ahead of us and there were e-gates available as well as agents at a desk. I tried to use the e-gates but the machine again told me there was a problem after I tried to scan my passport and was told to go for a manual passport inspection. The entire process was very quick - from first joining the queue for exit immigration to getting through it to the gate area took under 2 minutes!
We then went to the gate area to wait for our flight. This area seemed to be the area for all UK and Ireland flights. There was not much to do in this area except for wait, there were not many shops in this area and it was quite crowded at the time we were there.
Once our gate was displayed we lined up before the aircraft had even landed. However, our gate was then changed so we made our way to the new gate.
We eventually boarded the aircraft, a Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8. For this flight my seat was seat 23E, a middle seat. As with the flight out, the overhead panel had individual lights and air vents. The flight itself was uneventful and I did not buy anything onboard.
Upon landing in Dublin, we taxied to the gate and got off the aircraft. We made our way to passport control, I was able to use the e-gates without any problems. Since we did not have any checked baggage we were able to exit the airport.
I was pleasantly surprised at how fast Spanish exit immigration was, especially as I'd heard about long queues before. However, entry immigration in Spain was very slow and it was disappointing to see that only two agents were on duty, especially when the queue was so long.
Have you had a similar experience when travelling between Ireland and Spain? Feel free to share you thoughts by leaving a comment below, on the group discussion page or by emailing Av Geek Blog. You can also share your thoughts on social media or by using the contact form.
Thank you for reading.
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Email: geekofairlines@gmail.com
Date published: 30 September 2026
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