Road, bus and rail services around Ireland’s capital faced knock-on delays on 23 December 2025 after a collision on the M50 motorway close to Dublin Airport. The incident, which occurred just after 08:30 local time near Junction 2 (Clonshaugh), temporarily halted traffic flows at one of the country’s busiest holiday choke-points.
Although Gardaí cleared the vehicles within an hour, tailbacks persisted as thousands of passengers headed to the airport for peak festive departures. Bus Éireann reported cancellations or reduced frequency on five routes serving Dublin and the South-East, including the 111X commuter service from Trim and several D-series Dublin city routes.
For travellers whose schedules are being shuffled at short notice, ensuring that passports and any necessary visas are in order is just as critical as catching the next bus. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can expedite visa applications and passport renewals for those departing Dublin, providing real-time status updates and courier pick-up options that reduce stress when transport hiccups threaten to eat into precious preparation time.
![Pre-Christmas Crash Near Dublin Airport Triggers Multi-Modal Travel Disruptions]()
Irish Rail simultaneously reminded travellers of its special Christmas/New-Year timetable, with last trains on Christmas Eve finishing earlier than usual and no services at all on 25–26 December.
For corporate mobility managers coordinating last-minute business travel or holiday home-leave, the event is a reminder of Ireland’s limited transport redundancy. A single motorway incident can cascade across air and rail schedules. Employers should review contingency plans—such as pre-booking taxi vouchers or encouraging staff to travel the night before flight departures—during peak periods.
Looking ahead, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) says a new remote-stand bussing operation due in 2026 will require even tighter landside traffic management. Lessons from today’s disruption are likely to feed into that planning.
Although Gardaí cleared the vehicles within an hour, tailbacks persisted as thousands of passengers headed to the airport for peak festive departures. Bus Éireann reported cancellations or reduced frequency on five routes serving Dublin and the South-East, including the 111X commuter service from Trim and several D-series Dublin city routes.
For travellers whose schedules are being shuffled at short notice, ensuring that passports and any necessary visas are in order is just as critical as catching the next bus. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can expedite visa applications and passport renewals for those departing Dublin, providing real-time status updates and courier pick-up options that reduce stress when transport hiccups threaten to eat into precious preparation time.
Irish Rail simultaneously reminded travellers of its special Christmas/New-Year timetable, with last trains on Christmas Eve finishing earlier than usual and no services at all on 25–26 December.
For corporate mobility managers coordinating last-minute business travel or holiday home-leave, the event is a reminder of Ireland’s limited transport redundancy. A single motorway incident can cascade across air and rail schedules. Employers should review contingency plans—such as pre-booking taxi vouchers or encouraging staff to travel the night before flight departures—during peak periods.
Looking ahead, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) says a new remote-stand bussing operation due in 2026 will require even tighter landside traffic management. Lessons from today’s disruption are likely to feed into that planning.
