Manchester T1: A Hellish experience

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 31 total)

  • PatJordan
    Participant

    My wife and I arrived at Manchester Airport T1 on Friday 16th June 2017 at approximately 6.00pm, and were immediately struck by the masses of people queuing to enter the building. We put this down to it being a busy Friday evening and thought no more of it.

    We went to the Aer Lingus desk and checked in our luggage, and within a couple of minutes approached the security screening area. We were horrified to see the massive crowds of people queuing to enter security. Thankfully, we had access to the Fast Track security and we entered and joined a queue.

    This queue moved incredibly slowly and it took almost 90 minutes to finally clear security. This was Fast Track, and we heard passengers in the other queue saying that they had waited over two and a half hours.

    During this time, there were numerous announcements advising passengers to remove devices, etc from bags so as to speed up the security process. What a joke!

    At no time was there any announcement to explain this delay. We were confined inside a very hot area with no cool air, no offer of drinks of water (this was especially shameful as there were many elderly and pregnant passengers in this very uncomfortable area.

    When we finally reached the screening area, I was met by a very friendly operative whom I asked the reason for this delay. He explained that it was due to the airport being very busy.

    This is totally unacceptable: Airport management have information on the precise number of passengers due to check in at any given time. That such a large crowd was allowed to congregate in the departures area was a serious health hazard.

    Being confined in a very warm airless area with no access to water, and being denied the most basic information is a dreadful way to treat paying customers.

    In all my time travelling through airports (including the USA post 9/11) I have never had such a terrible experience.

    The management of Manchester Airport should hang their heads in shame at this debacle. My wife and I both love visiting the UK. On foot of our experience today, we will certainly think twice about flying out of Manchester.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=814559]My wife and I arrived at Manchester Airport T1 on Friday 16th June 2017 at approximately 6.00pm, and were immediately struck by the masses of people queuing to enter the building. We put this down to it being a busy Friday evening and thought no more of it.

    We went to the Aer Lingus desk and checked in our luggage, and within a couple of minutes approached the security screening area. We were horrified to see the massive crowds of people queuing to enter security. Thankfully, we had access to the Fast Track security and we entered and joined a queue.

    This queue moved incredibly slowly and it took almost 90 minutes to finally clear security. This was Fast Track, and we heard passengers in the other queue saying that they had waited over two and a half hours.

    During this time, there were numerous announcements advising passengers to remove devices, etc from bags so as to speed up the security process. What a joke!

    At no time was there any announcement to explain this delay. We were confined inside a very hot area with no cool air, no offer of drinks of water (this was especially shameful as there were many elderly and pregnant passengers in this very uncomfortable area.

    When we finally reached the screening area, I was met by a very friendly operative whom I asked the reason for this delay. He explained that it was due to the airport being very busy.

    This is totally unacceptable: Airport management have information on the precise number of passengers due to check in at any given time. That such a large crowd was allowed to congregate in the departures area was a serious health hazard.

    Being confined in a very warm airless area with no access to water, and being denied the most basic information is a dreadful way to treat paying customers.

    In all my time travelling through airports (including the USA post 9/11) I have never had such a terrible experience.

    The management of Manchester Airport should hang their heads in shame at this debacle. My wife and I both love visiting the UK. On foot of our experience today, we will certainly think twice about flying out of Manchester.

    [/quote]

    Pat, with the very greatest of respect, your experience was similar to the one my wife and I had entering Ireland through Dublin T1 recently on a Saturday morning. This was queueing to show a passport to the Garda (so they know we didn’t need to show a passport in the CTA). The Irish Government should hang their head in shame for this dysfunctional process.

    It is not acceptable, but happens a lot more than we realise, as our sample sizes are miniscule to the overall situation.

    T1 at MAN can get very busy, so can T3 (T2 may do, but I hardly ever use it, so cannot reasonably comment).


    Edski777
    Participant

    It happens not only at MAN and DUB, but at almost any major airport across Europe. Somehow the management of airports have been taken by surprise with the “sudden” upsurge in passenger numbers and the increased security requirements by the authorities.
    Improvements will have to be made, but will require high investments in buildings, equipment and people.
    It will take quite some time to settle this situation.

    You fly, you suffer.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Suffering a 30 minute security Q is bad enough but anything over an hour in my humble opinion is not acceptable.

    There are 4 reasons why Q’s are long:

    1. a shortage of security checkers
    2. security machines not working
    3. passengers not being prepared and ready for security
    4. too much hand baggage being taken through

    I do not buy the excuse that too many passengers are travelling or the airport is busy – its the job of management to flex staff rotas to allow for passenger flows in the same way, that passengers need to be prepared for passing a security check point i.e. get your stuff out ready in advance…

    I still passengers being allowed to take through way too much hand baggage….


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Thank heavens my days of using Manchester Airport ended about 8 years ago. I always thought it was a total dump and run for the convenience of the management.

    Sounds like nowt has changed.

    I’m told Liverpool is similar with staff trying to rip people off for fast track access.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=814573]Thank heavens my days of using Manchester Airport ended about 8 years ago. I always thought it was a total dump and run for the convenience of the management.

    Sounds like nowt has changed.

    I’m told Liverpool is similar with staff trying to rip people off for fast track access.

    [/quote]

    As a regular user of Manchester, I find it better to use than Heathrow and on a par with Gatwick.

    T1 is obsolete and needs to go – that is planned for the near future, no doubt leading to some disruption, but better in the longer term.

    I don’t particularly like Terminal 3, which strikes me as too small for the amount of traffic, but T1 is usually okay to use (if very dated).


    canucklad
    Participant

    Evening Pat,or to be more precise good morning,but then again what’s an hour or two between friends.
    Simply put ,totally unacceptable,and a daft excuse doesn’t cut it.
    If an airport security team doesn’t know when their going to be busy,then frankly how the hell do we expect them to safeguard us against those who want to do us harm.
    Hope you send them a very finger wagging email demanding a very sensible answer to your very unacceptable and very uncomfortable experience in Britain’s apparently 2nd gateway,
    According to the daily emails I receive from Manchester airport it’s truly a world class airport, and it’s not. Lots bluster and fluster leads to little lustre


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    On the opposite side, I arrived into MAN terminal 1 airside around the same time as Pat arrived landside.

    There was a queue stretching right back down the corridor for immigration – no controls in place so, consequently, people pushed and shoved their way into line at the point where 2 passenger streams converge.

    As usual, there was no queue for ‘foreign’ passports so they were straight through.

    Time taken from leaving the aircraft to the front of the line – 57 minutes leaving me just 4 mins to catch my train to Leeds which, needless to say, I missed by 5 minutes.

    Seriously, it’s a joke, this is twice in 3 weeks that I’ve waited close to an hour to get through passport control in Manchester.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    [quote quote=814627]There was a queue stretching right back down the corridor for immigration – no controls in place so, consequently, people pushed and shoved their way into line at the point where 2 passenger streams converge.
    As usual, there was no queue for ‘foreign’ passports so they were straight through.[/quote]

    So if a UK passport holder tried to clear through an empty “foreign” passport channel, will they be turned away? Is there any legal or practical reason why a common sense approach when there is a long line and empty line at passport control or are the clearing of passengers through certain channels/line an EU regulation…


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    [quote quote=814628]

    There was a queue stretching right back down the corridor for immigration – no controls in place so, consequently, people pushed and shoved their way into line at the point where 2 passenger streams converge.
    As usual, there was no queue for ‘foreign’ passports so they were straight through.

    So if a UK passport holder tried to clear through an empty “foreign” passport channel, will they be turned away? Is there any legal or practical reason why a common sense approach when there is a long line and empty line at passport control or are the clearing of passengers through certain channels/line an EU regulation…
    [/quote]

    I don’t know the answer to that.
    All I can say is that there was just 1 person at the place where the zig-zag lines begin, channelling people left or right depending on EU or not.
    Doubtless there will be some restriction or other….


    Gin&Tonic
    Participant

    I have used Man on an almost weekly basis for 25 years, it simply does not invest its money to the flow of passengers. Never has and never will.
    T1 is dominated by the 3 x EK daily flights in departures and arrivals. These flights create many of its issues.
    T3 was wonderful n the first few years it opened with mainly business flights BA, BD etc now it has easy jet, ryan air, all US long haul carriers and is chaos.
    T2 has the worst airline lounges you will ever find but mostly the shortest waits.
    Man is in the progress of 8 years of improvements, that means 8 years of chaos and a product not worthy when finished.


    esselle
    Participant

    Interesting.

    Without naming names, 25 years ago the CEO of the airport walked the place every day with an entourage, looking at “micro quality indicators” including toilets and was highly intolerant of anything he saw as negative to the customer experience. He got a knighthood.

    Over the years, various other CEO’s have come and gone and with each the ethos of customer experience has been diluted further and further, until today where the guy at the top is from infrastructure, so process and efficiency are his measurements.

    Thus, X pax times y agents times z time is an equation which will be used to determine performance because they will be based on an “average”; best then to try and arrive at a quiet period……….


    DavidGordon10
    Participant

    It looks as though you and I were in Manchester at about the same time Simon – and I agree, it was dire then and on the few occasions I have used it since, it remains dire.

    Maybe the new mayor of Manchester can put a rocket under the MAN management.


    Intheair
    Blocked

    DavidGordon10

    I agree with you – passengers have some choice over which airlines they use, but have far less choice over which airport. The airport authorities should not be allowed to milk passengers to improve their balance sheets and leave passengers with no choice to put up with the service.

    I personally avoid Manchester airport if at all possible.


    Speedbird_ABZ
    Participant

    I use MAN regularly too and absolutely hate having to use it! It has been chaotic for years – even with the enhanced security area in T3 it still has massive queues most of the time. We get warnings like “you will have to wait a further 45 minutes if we find something in your bag” etc etc. I would like to think that airlines are complaining that their passengers have a hellish experience there and would like to know what is said at the meetings because it is not any better than it was 3-4 years ago. Wish I could avoid, horrible horrible dump of a place.

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