LUTON -8
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the lines in the pictures I believe are slightly out of alignment . The need to move north slightly
And the surveyors have been back with the heavy equipment in 1B for the last week or so, having last been there in October
And the surveyors have been back with the heavy equipment in 1B for the last week or so, having last been there in October
Airport staff in pre-Christmas strike - BBC News
Swissport staff to strike on December 23rd/24th - Could make things interesting for those planning to travel through the holiday period. Doesn't actually mention Luton in the article but seems unsure on which airports will be affected.
Swissport staff to strike on December 23rd/24th - Could make things interesting for those planning to travel through the holiday period. Doesn't actually mention Luton in the article but seems unsure on which airports will be affected.
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Oh dear, with the removal of the pedestrian crossing to the short term car park this week no doubt airport management were hoping that their traffic woes would be a thing of the past despite the duel carriageway not being completed yet.
Think again Luton, It might be a week to Christmas but the airlines are still on their winter timetable and the tailbacks to get past that other pedestrian crossing in the drop off area is as bad as ever with queues down to the railway line.
What I find staggering is why nobody at the airport could see a problem in installing pedestrian crossings in a drop off zone that would be constantly in use at busy times. I have worked at the airport enough years to know that the airport has never got on top of sorting out a free flowing CTA since the new terminal opened in 1999 and this latest attempt is no better than the others. The finishing off of the duel carriageway will have no impact on travel times into the drop off zone when all traffic still has to get into a single lane to pass through it and then gets held up by a mass of humanity that wants to cross the return lane to get to and from the terminal.
The airport is spending around £11 million on improving traffic flows into the CTA and as can be seen has achieved nothing. I would call this a disaster for the airport as a key part of the £110 million project was to increase capacity. There is no point increasing capacity in the terminal and aprons if the passenger flow rate is set by the amount of passengers that can actually get into the CTA.
Think again Luton, It might be a week to Christmas but the airlines are still on their winter timetable and the tailbacks to get past that other pedestrian crossing in the drop off area is as bad as ever with queues down to the railway line.
What I find staggering is why nobody at the airport could see a problem in installing pedestrian crossings in a drop off zone that would be constantly in use at busy times. I have worked at the airport enough years to know that the airport has never got on top of sorting out a free flowing CTA since the new terminal opened in 1999 and this latest attempt is no better than the others. The finishing off of the duel carriageway will have no impact on travel times into the drop off zone when all traffic still has to get into a single lane to pass through it and then gets held up by a mass of humanity that wants to cross the return lane to get to and from the terminal.
The airport is spending around £11 million on improving traffic flows into the CTA and as can be seen has achieved nothing. I would call this a disaster for the airport as a key part of the £110 million project was to increase capacity. There is no point increasing capacity in the terminal and aprons if the passenger flow rate is set by the amount of passengers that can actually get into the CTA.
Last edited by Spanish eyes; 17th Dec 2016 at 06:46. Reason: new screen shots as the traffic jams kept inceasing.
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I was predicting this news for months now. The CTA is meant to have a capacity of 18 million passengers yet it still can't cope with a winters day one week from Christmas. It doesn't look too good for next summer then to be honest as the new duel carriageway will reduce the queue lengths but not the queuing times as traffic feeds back into a single lane.
Last edited by LTNman; 17th Dec 2016 at 11:07.
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Passed through Harpenden Train Station last night and puddles all round lift at platform 4, footbridge level, this was opened in 2010. Ok it wasn't from roof but open air vents above windows but it seems that functional upgrades are common with such problems where bean counters are involved!
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BA Cityflyer flights from Florence and Chambery into London City have diverted to Luton. I saw passengers from Florence disembarking, but the Chambery flight was parked up on the south stands waiting no sign of disembarking.
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So when you think it can't get any worse then I am sorry to say you are wrong. With plenty of drop off spaces maybe the airport should consider closing off the centre island with barriers and remove the crossing. Surely management must know what is going on or maybe they only look out of their windows between 9 and 5?
Lets remember that this time last year there used to be 4 or was it 5 lanes of drop off that was controlled by barriers. Those barriers reduced traffic flows to how it looks below but this is a screen shot taken today. The barriers are long gone only to be replaced by a pedestrian crossing that is having the same effect on traffic flows and the airport does nothing except employ two people to keep the traffic moving except it is so busy they have no effect.
Lets remember that this time last year there used to be 4 or was it 5 lanes of drop off that was controlled by barriers. Those barriers reduced traffic flows to how it looks below but this is a screen shot taken today. The barriers are long gone only to be replaced by a pedestrian crossing that is having the same effect on traffic flows and the airport does nothing except employ two people to keep the traffic moving except it is so busy they have no effect.
Last edited by LTNman; 18th Dec 2016 at 07:35.
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Port 94 might be too new to use PM's but I am not giving out an email address here. He can also publish info here direct under anonymity which is the way to go.
Swissport handle flights at Luton for:
El Al
Fly KISS
First Choice
Onur Air
Ryanair
Sunexpress
Thomson
Transavia
Wizz Air
All cargo flights
While Menzies is the Handling Agent for:
Air Nostrum
Blue Air
easyJet
Jet2
Monarch
TAROM
Vueling
New employees of Swissport start off life working for AVS who are not affected by the strike although there is not that many of them.
Swissport staff work for a company where living standards have not improved over the years and have probably got worse as there are always new people entering the labour market who will work for less but everyone deserves a living wage. Swissport have a high staff turnover and who seem to be permanently recruiting new staff via AVS to replace those that are always leaving.
While there has been talk of flights continuing for passengers who check-in online and without luggage no one has mentioned who will do the steps, the push back and the function of the dispatcher BUT not all staff are in the union so Luton might come away unscathed.
Swissport handle flights at Luton for:
El Al
Fly KISS
First Choice
Onur Air
Ryanair
Sunexpress
Thomson
Transavia
Wizz Air
All cargo flights
While Menzies is the Handling Agent for:
Air Nostrum
Blue Air
easyJet
Jet2
Monarch
TAROM
Vueling
New employees of Swissport start off life working for AVS who are not affected by the strike although there is not that many of them.
Swissport staff work for a company where living standards have not improved over the years and have probably got worse as there are always new people entering the labour market who will work for less but everyone deserves a living wage. Swissport have a high staff turnover and who seem to be permanently recruiting new staff via AVS to replace those that are always leaving.
While there has been talk of flights continuing for passengers who check-in online and without luggage no one has mentioned who will do the steps, the push back and the function of the dispatcher BUT not all staff are in the union so Luton might come away unscathed.
Last edited by LTNman; 19th Dec 2016 at 11:34.
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Port 94 might be too new to use PM's but I am not giving out an email address here. He can also publish info here direct under anonymity which is the way to go.
Swissport handle flights at Luton for:
El Al
Fly KISS
First Choice
Onur Air
Ryanair
Sunexpress
Thomson
Transavia
Wizz Air
All cargo flights
While Menzies is the Handling Agent for:
Air Nostrum
Blue Air
easyJet
Jet2
Monarch
TAROM
Vueling
New employees of Swissport start off life working for AVS who are not affected by the strike although there is not that many of them.
Swissport staff work for a company where living standards have not improved over the years and have probably got worse as there are always new people entering the labour market who will work for less but everyone deserves a living wage. Swissport have a high staff turnover and who seem to be permanently recruiting new staff via AVS to replace those that are always leaving.
While there has been talk of flights continuing for passengers who check-in online and without luggage no one has mentioned who will do the steps, the push back and the function of the dispatcher BUT not all staff are in the union so Luton might come away unscathed.
Swissport handle flights at Luton for:
El Al
Fly KISS
First Choice
Onur Air
Ryanair
Sunexpress
Thomson
Transavia
Wizz Air
All cargo flights
While Menzies is the Handling Agent for:
Air Nostrum
Blue Air
easyJet
Jet2
Monarch
TAROM
Vueling
New employees of Swissport start off life working for AVS who are not affected by the strike although there is not that many of them.
Swissport staff work for a company where living standards have not improved over the years and have probably got worse as there are always new people entering the labour market who will work for less but everyone deserves a living wage. Swissport have a high staff turnover and who seem to be permanently recruiting new staff via AVS to replace those that are always leaving.
While there has been talk of flights continuing for passengers who check-in online and without luggage no one has mentioned who will do the steps, the push back and the function of the dispatcher BUT not all staff are in the union so Luton might come away unscathed.
Basically the issues we are having at Luton is the rosters for the staff levels on the day.
Currently the dispatch staff that are on shift on the planned walk out are all members of unite and will strike.
As the ramp side, most of the unskilled workers are not members of unite.
But the trained ramp guys (Pushbacks, steps & bets) are memebers
We estimate 70% of trained ramp guys on shift on the strike days will strike
Basically if the strikes go ahead Luton will also be hit quite bad, but we are in a lot of doubt that these strikes won't happen, the company are in talks today and tomorrow.
Contingencies the airport are in talks about are not what they seem, the idea was to involve security and operations personnel into the Swissport operation, but a lot of their workforce are members of unite and are not aloud to disrupt the strike.
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The multistory has opened today. On the day prices are somewhat eye watering and a tad more expensive than the short term car park. Prices can be found here.
London Luton Airport Multi Story Car Parking Save Up To 50%!
London Luton Airport Multi Story Car Parking Save Up To 50%!
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The multistory has opened today.
I think the top floor will still be closed as there appears to still be building materials on the roof when viewed from the fire station.
Oh and that busted lift is still out of action after nearly a week.
Last edited by Spanish eyes; 20th Dec 2016 at 05:24.