[Anonymous]

[MartynSinclair]

I have benefited enormously by taking advantage of ex-Europe tickets over the years, but I have just been given a lesson. For the first time in all my years of travelling I was denied boarding, in front of the boarding gate and in ear shot of lots of passengers.

The lesson I learned, there is a serious difference between benefiting from a commercial/economic advantage (of getting cheap tickets… via ex-Europe departures) over trying to short cut the airport system (immigration and security) trying to rush through.

The airport I was using (for my ex-Europe departure) still mixes inbound and outbound passengers in the boarding area. When I disembarked, I mentioned to the crew I was returning with them, as I always do, just in case there was a problem or as in some cases they do manage to provide assistance (which on many occasions they have willingly done.. as a favour).

As I disembarked directly into the boarding area, I did not go through the system, but just waited by the boarding gate for the return, something I had done many many times before in several airports.

15 minutes before boarding, I was approached by a member of the airline team asking if I had been through security and immigration as the operating crew had a security concern about me reboarding and the ground crew had spoken to immigration who were equally concerned I had not cleared immigration, despite the fact I considered myself a transit passenger.

Despite all my protests, “I have been doing this for ** years”, “I am a gold card holder”, “you could have told me earlier.. I have been waiting for 30 minutes by the boarding gate”…….. I knew my flight was going to be changed because I knew I did not have the time to go through the system and get back to the gate in time.

Walking away from the boarding gate, I was already writing the Forum post… fuming, angry, extremely pi**ed off…. How dare they deny me boarding, I had done nothing wrong….

However, Paris, Brussels, Brexit, border controls and a host of other thoughts was going through my mind. However angry I was at having to take a later flight (which incidentally did not affect the London departure) I realised that that enjoying the benefits of ex-Europe flights should not be confused with “DYKWIA”, trying to beat the airport system.

Immigration gave me a very hard time, explaining there was NOT a transit area (pre immigration) and if I was caught trying to something similar in the future, they would ‘detain’ me.

By the time I got back to the boarding gate, I realised I was in the wrong. Security and border controls are not created to be beaten, they are there for a reason. I made a point of apologizing to the ground crew for giving them a hard time. Gaining a commercial advantage with any airline, is totally different from trying to beat the airport system – the lesson I learned is gain the commercial advantage (cheaper fares) but do not try to short cut the airport system (immigration and security).

I have purposely NOT disclosed the airport in question as it is irrelevant. My past posts about trying to beat the system by waiting by the boarding gate, where possible…. was very wrong.

So, whilst I remain a big supporter of ex-Europe tickets, I would also advise that trying to shortcut the airport system, could result in far more than a missed flight. I have learned my lesson and will be altering my ex-Europe travel system starting with my May/June BKK flights.

[GivingupBA]

Martyn, thanks very much for your clear post, and for posting your story. No doubt that your story is very helpful for many readers on this forum.

By the way I like your reflective sentence, “By the time I got back to the boarding gate, I realised I was in the wrong.”

Anyway I’m glad to hear that you caught your onward connection from London.

[NTarrant]

Whoops! Although that’s not what you thought! I have to say I always thought you were sailing close to the wind in going out and then back on the same aircraft. But your experience is a good reminder that one should invest a bit of time.

[RichardB]

This does not sound like any of the airports in mainland europe i’ve transited through. Changing planes in Munich, Frankfurt, Helsinki: you arrive in the same area as the departing passengers and proceed direct to the gate of your next plane. No passport control. No security. This is quite normal. If the “next” plane happened to be on the one you arrived on, so what.

Occasionally i’ve flown something like Helsinki – Frankfurt – Paris and the “next” plane was actually the same plane (and same crew) doing the same routing as me. They recognized me and welcomed me back onboard.

I should point out I don’t live in the UK and have written about travelling from schengen – schengen countries (ie most of europe except UK and Ireland).
The original post is considering “ex-europe” to be a trip uk-mainland europe-uk and sounds like a problem with arriving UK pax being put directly into schengen area departures which is wrong and that has never happened to me in Frankfurt, Munich or Helsinki. you should arrive in the non-schengen part. If the airport is designed well you will only need to clear immigration (eg munich) but if designed badly then you end up needing security again as well (which happens if arriving UK pax are mixed up with arriving non-clean countries. clean countries are EU + some others like USA

[Bullfrog]

Martyn, you have acknowledged that you needed to concur with the immigration / security system.

However it could be argued that the airport’s security system is flawed if arriving & departing passengers have access to each other. That should be of great concern.

[SimonS1]

I’m struggling to see what the issue really was here. Sounds like you had a jobsworth in the BA crew.

Why should you have to clear immigration? Are you saying there are never transit passengers going through the airport?

Also if there was a security risk in you walking up the jetty and waiting it could only mean that security at LHR is flawed, at no stage has you left the sterile area.

I wouldn’t condone any DYKWIA activity but I think you have been ‘done’ here.

[FirstClassWannabe]

I would agree with SimonS1, you were just a transit passenger and had done nothing wrong. Had you not mentioned it to the BA crew, no-one would have been any the wiser. I imagine the reprimand you received from immigration was not pleasant but in view of what happened this week they will be on high alert for anything out of the ordinary, which maybe to them, this was..

I have always been interested in your posts re ex-Europe and also thought you were sailing close to the wind at times, but as you say, lesson learned. Glad you managed to make your onward flight to BKK I assume.

[peter19]

Martyn, interesting to hear your story. I think the clear distinction here is transiting on the 1 booking for all your sectors or as Martyn has in this case( I presume) a separate booking. There is a clear difference.
In any respect, there are so many airports where you can arrive into the same departure area maybe it is a flaw.

[TominScotland]

I think the point is that Martyn was not in transit. He was on two tickets and the return flight was as a new passenger, starting at the ‘transit’ airport. Of course, there should be an expectation that a passenger commencing his journey should clear security at the start of his journey. So no jobsworth by BA crew, just correct application of security processes. The fact that he got away with it in the past is the problem, I would say.

I have arrived in BKK on one carrier and tried to ‘transit’ onto another carrier (separate tickets) and was directed very firmly through immigration and back round through security.

[SimonS1]

But what “security concern” could the BA crew have had? They would have known Martyn had cleared security at LHR having seen him arrive on the inward flight.

If Martyn had disembarked from a flight at a different gate and then entered the gate for the BA flight how would the crew have known he had not cleared immigration or security. Passports are not stamped in the EU so there would have been no means of knowing.

Also I wasn’t aware that having separate bookings prevented you from being a transit passenger. Quite often airlines will check baggage through even on separate PNRs in which case there is no reason to go through immigration, particularly if you have a BP for the onward flight.

[LHRFrequentFlyer]

I have made many back to back connections at EU airports that have a transit channel. Occasionalyy thay ask which flight I arrived on, but that has never been a problem.

Although you are often not able to transit an airport unless you already have an onward boarding pass, I have never seen any requirement for a through ticket.

[passionateflyer]

Would you be able to advise on the airport which took this position? I have done this many times and it has never been an issue but then again I have technically been in transit areas and if there is an airport in the EU which mixes inbound and outbound but which does not consider it a transit area, it would be very helpful to know! I certainly do not want to play the system so I would really appreciate knowing where this happened to ensure I am clear about where it is necessary to clear immigration and security prior to re-boarding.

For example, Amsterdam has a distinct transit area, therefore this should not be a problem as you are a transit passenger. I am not sure about Dublin T1 as you are in a secure zone in the 200-gates.

[LuganoPirate]

I wonder if this is a ruse by BA to inconvenience ex Europe travellers? A and had you said nothing and gone for a short stroll before boarding would anyone have even noticed?

FRA also mixes arriving and departing pax in the Schengen area and there is no further security to pass.

[MartynSinclair]

some of the answers/comments have made me begin to question whether indeed I was wrong….

The fact is that I had been told many times that I needed to follow ‘Transit’ procedures.

Arriving in London and many other destinations, arriving and departing passengers are not allowed to mix and the passenger is forced to go through the system. Examples are Linate and Oslo.

However, when I start an ex-Europe ticket in either of these destinations, the cabin crew (on the outbound) try to be as helpful as possible and it has not be unknown for me not to go through the system, but instead one of the ground crew running to immigration with my passport. I accept this is always a one off, but it has frequently happened.

The other questions I now have are:

(from RichardB and Peter19) – is there a difference between changing planes and being in transit. When I have flown with Finnair or LH to the Far East.. on arrival, I am told to go straight to the new gate. Why is a connecting flight on the same ticket any different to a connecting flight on a new ticket?

(from Bullfrog) – indeed I was told that I had entered the system mixing with outbounds, technically I was now ‘non-sterile’. This arguments really works both ways, as the departing passengers will also now be ‘non-sterile’, so it really does make a mockery of the system.

The other interesting part is the airline are fully aware of the number of passengers now using ex-Europe tickets. Indeed the return flight I took had 9 rows of club seats. Is there any chance we are actually being forced through the system to make it difficult for using ‘ex-Europe tickets’ OR is there really a need to go through the system in non sterile airports.

Happy Easter from a ‘confused traveller’…..

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