[MartynSinclair]

British Airways have now outsourced the boarding gate agents in Frankfurt. Boarding my return flight home today, my passport was not checked by the gate agent. I queried why my passport was not checked and the answer was, we no longer have to do it as it was checked when “passing security”. This despite arriving and departing passengers mixing (pre security)..

On boarding, I queried this with the purser who spoke to the Captain. Other passengers were asked and none seemed to have had a passport check at boarding.

The gate manager was called to the aircraft who checked with the gate agent… and here is the real worry… the gate agent confirmed to the manager.. all passports were checked pre boarding!

By this point the cabin crew and Captain by asking a sample of passengers, realised that few, if any passports had been checked. The gate manager received a well deserved dressing down by the senior cabin crew member, within ear shot of passengers, saying along with other points….., “mistakes do happen which can be rectified, but please do not lie to crew, especially about security”.

After the door had been closed the Captain announced that it was both BA and UK Government policy that all passports and boarding passes need to be checked at the gate & the crew then went through the aircraft checking passports and boarding passes.

I think the one positive about the situation, it was several passengers, who bought this to the attention of crew and no one complained about the additional on board check.

I sincerely hope that BA and Fraport review security protocols when outsourcing ….

[capetonianm]

I will be travelling via FRA in a couple of weeks, having avoided it for the last few years because it had just become so awful specially if you were travelling between Schengen and non-Schengen which was invariably the case on my trips. I will pay particular attention to security procedures and will report back.

[LuganoPirate]

My last trip through FRA was 2 weeks ago arriving from JNB around 5.50 am and with 3 hours to my next flight. Rather than walk all round the airport (I always seem to get lost) and seeing the queues I did something different. I went straight to the exit. No queue at passport control, through customs and out. Upstairs, priority lane, about 7 people in front of me but through in 5 minutes and off to the lounge. A good twenty minutes later another passenger on the same fight as me came in, though I don’t know if he got lost or did some shopping on the way. However it definitely felt a lot quicker than using the transit passage.

[rrakpo]

I fly every 21 days through FRA on route between ABZ-ICN with LH, and I have always had my passport checked on every flight, on the FRA side it is one of the best airports in Europe, great shopping, easy to find your way around and plenty of lounges (big plus for me lots of smoking rooms), only downside’s are security are incredibly miserable and you can tend to walk long distances when you are changing terminals, but its the same for a lot of the big European flights.

[MartynSinclair]

More relevant on this thread than the other LH thread.

Frankfurt Terminal 1 security is a world apart from Terminal 2 (yes there is somewhere more unpleasant than T5 Heathrow). It was such a different and ‘pleasant as these things are’ experience that I spoke to one of the managers and asked him why was there such a difference between the 2 terminals.. the answer… the airport employs / contracts different firms to run the security. The sooner the T1 firm takes over T2 the better.

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=803878]More relevant on this thread than the other LH thread.
The sooner the T1 firm takes over T2 the better.

[/quote]

Fully agree Martyn. they can be a miserable lot.

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