Came through early Wednesday, arriving after 0130 on Jet2. Late, as were a number of others. Took 75 minutes of queueing, until after 0300, to even reach an immigration officer in the queue. In fact, by the time we finally were leaving the terminal, there were considerable numbers arriving for the first 0600 flights. Quite a few points.
- There seemed to be, by my judgement, about 2,000-plus people in the queue, say 12 or more737-800s worth. By 0300, looking back, the queue seemed to be the same, subsequent arrivals were just adding to numbers at the rate they were being handled.
- The Transit had been shut down, possibly for the night, and bus transfers were being used instead, which decanted passengers to get to immigration by a series of emergency exit doors opened for them.
- There is now the most enormous zig-zag queueing area set up for immigration, which now occupies a significant percentage of the Norman Foster 1991 terminal building. This is clearly a daily event.
- Despite this, the queue extended way back before this provision, right down the steep stairs approach from the buses, surely a safety hazard which the airport has chosen to ignore.
- Checking nightly since, the number of actual post-midnight arrivals was the norm. So presumably this happens every night.
- There is a huge and continuous publicity string all the way along about being ready for the e-passport gates, an extensive artwork campaign that must have cost a considerable sum, with sneering comments about "needing to be ready" for them, but without the slightest helpful indication on who can use them and who not.
- And guess what, they were all closed (25 e-passport gates) anyway, and everyone sent to manual checking. So all the expensive signage etc was a complete waste of time. If it's going to be turned off, don't stick up umpteen permanent signs telling everyone to be ready for it.
- The other continuously signed aspect is all about don't abuse the staff, etc, there must be 30 to 40 such notices, endorsed by every public agency you can think of in varying combinations - MAG, Essex police, immigration, Uncle Tom Cobbley, etc. What a first time impression for arriving visitors.
- One wondered whether toilets should be provided halfway along the queue. A number were in obvious distress.
- One does wonder that if the management spent less time on sticking up irrelevant mass notices, and more on organising to handle the numbers they willingly sign up for with airlines (after all, it wasn't as if we weren't expected that night), things would be a lot better.
- I would say that the immigration staff themselves, once finally reached, were still spot on in pleasantness and professionalism. Unfortunately I can't say that about the whining, shouting, uniform-dishevelled, stoned-looking, airport-employed queue marshals, who appeared to wish they had been issued with cattle prods to handle the crowds.
- Of course, management will say that immigration is "nuffin' to do wiv' me, mate". But the airport management's job is to pull together ALL the aspects of the operation, and come down on any part that is giving issues. Now I know that the upper management approach is never to complain, always to deflect, about issues with immigration and customs, because they are too close to the approvals team in Whitehall for CBEs etc, but that's just too bad, the management have to run the show. Besides which MAG chairman Sir Adrian Montague has already got his CBE and knighthood, so little to lose.
Last edited by WHBM; 10th Sep 2022 at 16:55.