NI woman’s warning to holidaymakers as car 'stolen' from Dublin Airport parking

A woman from Northern Ireland has issued a warning to holidaymakers as her car was "stolen" from an airport car park.

Rebecca Cooper, from Whitehead, travelled to Dublin Airport on Saturday, April 20, to set off on her holidays. Parking her car in the airport's Express Red Car Park, Rebecca made sure to take photos of where she was parked, so she could locate her car after 10 days abroad.

Returning to the car park on Wednesday, May 1, she said her car was nowhere to be found. Alerting airport staff, they helped her look around the car park, but this was to no avail.

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The incident was reported to Gardaí, who said their investigation into the "unauthorised taking of a vehicle" is ongoing.

Speaking to Belfast Live about the incident, Rebecca said she wanted to share her story to alert any other holidaymakers to such potential dangers. Her car is a keyless vehicle, which police have previously noted as being victims of theft due to keyless entry technology.

She said: "To get into the parking, you have to either read your plate or scan a QR code you get on your confirmation email. We went and parked the car, and we actually thought it was really good because it's such a big car park that they had stewards.

"We left the car and went on holiday, then got back on Wednesday. We got the shuttle bus and I had taken a few photographs of where the car was, because I ironically lose my car whenever it's parked in a car park. I took three photos from different angles.

"So when we got there I looked at the photos, looked at the space, and saw the car wasn't there. My partner walked around to have a look in the car park, but I just stood and stared at the photos, I could see from the background and everything my car wasn't there."

Rebecca said the staff on-site were very helpful, both in looking through CCTV and helping to report the incident to Gardaí.

A Gardaí spokesperson said: "Gardaí are investigating the unauthorised taking of a vehicle in Swords, Co. Dublin that was reported on Wednesday 1st May 2024. Investigations are ongoing."

A Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) spokesperson said: "DAA Airport Police works in close collaboration with An Garda Síochana at Dublin Airport on investigations of this nature.

"We do not comment on specific aspects of ongoing investigations as due legal process must be adhered to. Any comment in relation to any alleged incident at Dublin Airport could be prejudicial in any subsequent court case either criminal or civil."

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