First Impressions
Had an embarrassing experience yesterday evening arriving on EZY195 from BFS. Arrived ahead of schedule at 17:20, stairs attached and onto buses we went heading for domestic arrivals. This is where the fun began - reached the doors for entry to terminal but no-one from Swissport to greet as an escort. Bus blocking airside roadway so driver apologised and said we had to drive around airfield until he had confirmation that a member of staff was present to meet passengers into arrivals. So off we went on a merry ride around the aprons reminiscent of the film 'Speed' (albeit at a slower pace!). Finally the driver clocked the doors were open but now an OCS vehicle was blocking the space - however he opened the front doors only and off everyone scrambled.
The fun didn't end there - it transpired that no-one from Swissport had in fact turned up; now 120+ pax trapped on a staircase in a random corridor banging on doors to try and get the attention of someone to let us in . Finally at 18:00 someone from Swissport came and opened up the route into baggage reclaim not even apologising or uttering a word. Ironically the aircraft we arrived on was ready for departure as we were still trapped!
A shocking arrival experience and totally embarrassing first impression of the airport/city for visitors. As a local it was painful to experience. Obviously issues with Swissport rather than the airport itself but still an entirely avoidable situation. This wasn't lost on some Belfast natives stating 'how did BFS come below this place?!" referring to the Which? survey.