EssexMan61
The way I look at it is this.
You have various options. But you are personally choosing none of them. You know the rules and how it is well ahead of your travels. You can’t complain about it when you are choosing to go against the rules. It’s no different to someone turning up at the gate with an oversize bag and getting the hump when they knew well in advance it wasn’t allowed on board and then causing a stink. You see, this is the problem with our society today. So many folk are full of self importance and just because they don’t like it, they feel it’s their right to go against it. But you can’t get the a*** about it because you have/had options. It’s YOU that’s choosing not to accept any of them.
If if you don’t like how it is then you really do need to reassess the situation and perhaps book a different flight from a different airport. If it’s Southend however, don’t turn up too early as the airport terminal is closed overnight and it’s damn cold outside this time of year.
To to be blunt, it is you that’s making the situation awkward for yourself. And the only person it affects is you I’m afraid.