Queues at security, who has the biggest?

[airbuddie]

Has anyone experienced large queues at any of our UK airports waiting to go through the security search area ?

who is the best?
who is the worst?

[ExSimGuy]

Gatwick - makes all the others look sooo efficient in comparison.

Heathrow - not bad at all

Glasgow - no problem.

That's my verdict on the 3 that I use . . .

[skintmuppet]

Having worked at Gatwick, I can honestly say that security are drastically understaffed. There is also very little room inside the South Terminal for any future expansion work to be carried out. They estimate that around 45,000 people a day will be departing through ST during weekends in the summer, so be warned....you aint seen nothing yet!

[Deep Cover Gecko]

I have to agree that the queues at Gatwick are really bad. I was flying to Ireland one day, and there were at least four other flights using the "Ireland and UK flights" channel. It took about 45 minutes to get through, and people were sailing through the international departures, which really annoyed everybody who was waiting to go to Ireland.
I've also seen Stansted with very long queues. It seems as though the number of security channels that are open is in inverse proportion to the number of passengers, which can lead to problems, especially in the summer.

[Eagle18th]

Heathrow - busy but well organised.

Gatwick - busy, not so well organised.

Stansted - normally awful, not enough x-ray machines and generally big queues.(STN check-in queues usually the worst as well).

[simitra]

Its not so much the queues but the danger of having valuables in your handbaggage snaffled that always worries me when putting through the x-ray machine. We have probably all see the TV progs about thieves at airports but there seems to be very little consciousness of this among staff. When I travel with a companion I send them through to wait at the other end and then I put all the bags through, so they are only out of sight when actually going through the machine. When I travel solo I take all my valuables out of my handbag and hand-carry them through the gate. If I have a laptop I make a fuss about the security aspect and make sure that the staff watch it, or examine it so I can hand carry through. Airport thieves target singles. Better to make a nuisance of yourself than to come off the poorer.

[LatviaCalling]

Simitra,

Good one. After having my briefcase nabbed before my eyes at the SAS check-in in Milan last December, I will be ever more carefull.

Your post should be one of the top 10 rules of pax and flying.

By the way, you are now officially nominated as the person to carry out a survey of what to do and what not to do at an airport. The results could be a nice little book for you, sold at airport newsstands all over the world.

10% commission for me as your editor/manager, etc.

Cheers,

LatviaCalling

[What_does_this_button_do?]

When I went through Gatwick (North) last week the arrangements were dreadful. Queues (not moving), one manager shuffling people around so people could make it past the initial check, and then one of the perfume buggies arrive with a rather attractive blonde driving it.

This didn't distract any security staff when it arrived to be checked until the lady driving it showed some stocking top by accident and then it was swarming with security officers to be checked!!!!, this casued the queues to get longer. Only 2 out of the 5 machines were open (4 machines if you count out the Fastrack lane - which was closed as well!).

Heathrow - never a problem....well only once but Burger King caught on fire so that's an excusable reason!

[OzPax1]

Your right. Heathrow is well organised, their just always very busy. But then again you go to Airports like Singapore's Changi and there the security check is actually at the gate. Expensive I know, but it's aVERYeffiecent (from PAX point of view)way of doing things.

OzPax1 http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

[The Guvnor]

Don't forget that at BAA airports, you can buy 'FastTrack' status for a fiver or so ... this (supposedly) gets you through security faster, using the FastTrack lane reserved for First/Business/CIP pax.

Of course, if too many people buy the FastTrack passes, then the 'fast track' will slow down to the pace of the other ones ... necessitating the opening up of a new 'Super FastTrack'! :) :) :)

Sounds a bit like Premier Economy to me!

[skintmuppet]

Fast Track was designed to let First and Business Class pax avoid waiting with the rabble in economy. Surely the time this is needed most is when it is busy, but this never seems to happen. On many occasions I have seen people moved from the normal queues to Fast Track, apparently to get them through as quickly as possible. Having questioned this protocol in the past, I have since found out that as Fast Track is a free service and anyone can use it. Obviously the best time to use Fast Track is when the Terminals are at their quietest....when you can pick any X-ray you like! (so long as it's manned!)

[What_does_this_button_do?]

It would be useful if Fastrack was available all the time rather than 'peak hours'.