[Anonymous]

[gmartin]

Sunday evening, 8pm – no queue, but LCY security is really slow – takes them 3 x 4 times longer to process each passenger once at the security area compared with BAA. Why is this? I assume it also explains next experience.

Monday morning, 6.10am (after WX cancelled Sunday evening flight). 40 minutes from entering queue until exist past security. it was chaos. Back to the days of people being called forward (adding to delay for people who come ‘on time.’ Only 2 of the 4 lanes were operating. And 6.10 is not peak time. Really hate paying a premium to fly ex LCY and end up with 40 min waiting in security with families and ‘gate closing’ pax ‘cutting in line.’

[KeaneJohn]

I flew outbound from LCY to FRA for an onward connection to DXB a couple of weeks ago. I have to say I was disappointed with the experience. Also, the Eurostar style gates that are the entrance to security who invented those. It took nearly each passenger up to 3 attempts to get the barrier to read the bar code aided by one person per gate.. Surely, just have one person checking bar coded boarding cards like you do at the entrance to other airport’s security would be a lot better.

[EdTraveller]

30 minute queue’s again last night at LCY. Very frustrating given new Security Hall. Only 3 out of 6 lanes in operation at peak time ! Passengers being called forward, and much frustration in queue !

Additionallly, an official complaint handed by myself to security four weeks ago has not been acknowledged or answered.
Very poor management.

[seasonedtraveller]

Manchester airport, 0600 Wednesday – packed full with holidaymakers, 25 mins to get through security!!

Why, oh why, do they not verbally encourage people to remove belts, laptops, phones etc etc BEFORE they get to the bloody machine – this is what causes so many delays, I even see business travellers casually removing belts, scarves, laptops right at the belt when they have just been in the queue for 10 mins.

[craigwatson]

seasonedtraveller –

In some cases it is just not possible ( or very awkward ) to remove your belt, scarf, phones, laptop , etc… while in line. Where do you put them? do you just dump all the others on the ground while you remove your laptop from its case? they need to give out trays ( and have some sort of table to place them on) while still in the queues.

[Travellator]

Totally agree with seasonedtraveller, most delays are not actual screening time but people only getting prepared when they reach the line. In answer to craigwatson, I also agree in part but many people do nothing at all until they reach the end of the queue even removing a coat can save say 30 secs or 15 minutes if 30 people in the queue.

The answer would be to have trays available say 10 metres away from the screening point

[EdTraveller]

The frustrating fact is that the vast majority of passengers are pre prepared at LCY but the system and staffing let it down. Additionally, I frequently arrive on the first BA flight from EDI in the morning and the baggage area is still closed at 8am and the exit doors are locked to gain access to the terminal and the DLR etc……its like the staff are genuinely surprised that a flight has landed !

[travelworld]

I must admit it always staggers me that people take an age to remove first keys, then phone, then coins, then wallet, then Ipod etc etc, rather than just leaving them all in your jacket- then put the jacket through the X ray. Worse are those who don’t bother at all, then remove items one by one as they are sent back through the scanner to try again successively….Would save us all loads of time if they were denied boarding after three attempts….

[continentalclub]

Personally, I see little difference in the level of preparedness between frequent flyers and infrequent flyers.

Frequent flyers are caught out by the inconsistencies between different countries, airports, terminals and even time-of-day or mood-of-staff.

Infrequent flyers are simply unaware of the latest requirements.

There are, it seems to me, two fundamental flaws in most airports’ execution of security screening procedures:

1. Passengers are allowed into the ‘flow’ without being given the opportunity or facility to prepare. Luggage contents should not be separated at the scanner, a point at which any delay immediately impacts, but should be separated before entry to the flow. Since we are none of us octopii, and to take T5 as an example, BAA could be giving out clear, printed carrier bags for laptops, keys, phones, liquids etc at the entry to Security, so that passengers are forced (as much as practically-possible) to be ready to be screened *before* they enter the flow.

2. FastTrack should always be based on immediate access to the next available screening machine, not simply a separate queue alone. Yes, there needs to be a means of policing access to the FastTrack channel, but then at the other end there must be a staff member who directs the FastTracker straight to the next available machine, ahead of the general queue. BAA’s (and, in fairness many other aiport operators’) half-attempt at this – often not even policing access very well – is self-defeating unless it’s possible to permanently guarantee so many scanners dedicated to FT that there’ll never be a queue. In high-cost locations like Western Europe, that’s highly unlikely. So, if indeed it’s not possible, then the operator must dynamically manage both ends of the queue, not just the access point. Otherwise, little or no incremental benefit in processing time is likely to result.

I’m quite certain that addressing those two issues would see matters improve for all passengers – though it may take the DfT mandating maximum processing times for the airport operators to actually do something about them.

If I was this week’s Transport Minister, I’d fine the airport the Passenger Service Charge for each passenger who wasn’t through in 3 minutes……

[conair346]

Seasoned – Manchester Airport have holograms of staff to advise passengers of how to approach security as well as signs everywhere and periodic pre-recorded tannoy announcements so nobody has any reason to not be prepared.

Manchester also have the Eurostar gates but often find they have them deactivated, or a member of the security team is taking boarding passes from the passengers cause they cant be trusted – just like the morons who cant use self service checkouts at the supermarkets.

Also if anyone is strugging to put your belt, watch etc away. Have you ever considered hand luggage? I find it invaluable to put my stuff into my jacket or bag just after checkin on my way to security.

[Tirana1]

LCY management have again failed to manage security issues effectively – at 7.30am this Monday 2 out of 6 machines were not staffed. It took 20 minutes to get through queues (for an airport that used to promote 15 minute check in times !). One staff member commented that “it is our busiest time of the week but we are short staffed”.

How hard can it really be to staff just 6 security lanes properly ?

Once through security the terminal was grossly over crowded and toilets filthy. What has gone wrong with LCY service standards ?

[Author]

Posts