EDINBURGH AIRPORT SECURITY

[ROSCO328]

Just travelled through Edinburgh airport on Saturday morning and it was the worst experience I've ever had at an airport!. Staff are ludicrous! Extreamly rude, barking orders, sarcastic and dam right unhelpful not to mention the slowest ever!!!.

Unavoidable if you need to travel through the airport but be warned!!!!!

[HeartyMeatballs]

I used it a while back and it was utter carnage. They had some bizarre queuing system just to reach the belt on which to put your stuff into trays. Poorly signed. Staff attitude pretty bad, all in all not a great experience.

[edi_local]

They got some bad press when the new hall opened, but since around Christmas time last year they have improved. I pass by EDI security very frequently. They now have boards where the passengers can write what their experience was like for all to see. I haven't seen too many negatives of late. Very few actually. The stand on the number system is still ridiculous though, but sadly it seems other airports are adopting this silliness too. At least LCY, LGW and STN have done from what I've noticed, possible LTN too. It's sadly spreading and it does absolutely nothing to speed up the process.

[xanda_man]

I feel your pain having experienced it myself. I went through EDI late last year and missed my BE flight back to BHX by milliseconds despite doing the 'Home Alone style run' to the gate, they had literally just closed the gate.

Now most people would say "you should have got there earlier" etc blah etc but I joined the security queue with over 50 minutes until dep time and still never made it.

Had to go back to check-in and the lovely member of staff shouted to her colleague "we've got another one, security is shocking today". Thankfully it wasn't the last flight of the day and they didn't charge me to switch, gave me a lounge pass and free fast track.

They actually had security go back and track me through CCTV to make sure I wasn't fibbing and my story checked out, I think it was something like 51 minutes from joining the queue to getting out the other side. It wasn't even remotely busy hence my choice not to fast track but I was far too committed to turn around and chance leaving the queue.

Flybe logged a formal complaint and so did I. Still waiting for a response :ugh:

[snooky]

I prefer not to fly at all rather than subject myself to the woeful mess that is Edinburgh airport. Glasgow airport is less time down road from Edinburgh than the time that can be spent in security alone at Edinburgh.
It will only become worse if reduced apd comes into effect.

[billyg]

Dewar counts every new service as another notch on his belt , and issues like security take a back seat.

[bingofuel]

Does airport management not realise that the more time the 'customers' stand in a security queue the less time they have to meander their way through the shopping mall on the way to the gate? As the entire operation is geared towards removing as much money as possible from the 'customer's'wallet it does seem very poor management to have such a delay at security.

[edi_local]

They seemed to cope perfectly fine with the French rugby charters today.

To bring some balance to this thread, I had to wait over 20 minutes to clear security at GLA last week and about 45 minutes to clear security at BHX about 2 weeks ago, neither of which was particularly busy once I was actually airside, they just had very few lanes open and a backlog quickly formed.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

The concept is flawed, the design is bad. It's also being introduced at fellow GIP airport, Gatwick. However too many senior people would lose face to change it now. I expect it will be quickly replaced as soon as they've moved on, but not before.

It's not a GLA vs EDI dig, just a really poor idea that was rolled out unproven and has still doesn't work. Completely non intuitive and requires someone to tell most people what to do, the mark of bad design in any field.

[Hotel Tango]

edi local, indeed BHX can be very bad at times. Just wait until the A380 starts!

[matkat]

I use it every week with rarely any problem, the exception being 2 weeks ago when they tried (and failed) a separate path for fast track which was slower than the slow go queue there was plenty of negative comments on the board that day!!!

[kaikohe76]

Security personnel & I refuse to use the term Officers, at a number of Airports world wide, forget one rather important thing. Are we not all on the same side when it comes to airport & pax security?. Furthermore, if you wish the cooperation of a pax, you are more likely to get it, if the pax are treated with, tact, consideration & respect. It might also just help, if the words, good morning, please, thank you etc are used. Can any expert advise me please, do you as a pax have any recourse to a higher authority, if you are subject to bad treatment by airport security staff?

[Heathrow Harry]

but then when do they get their fun?

They are underpaid and treat like dirt by their employers and the airports so they take it out on the SLF

I dont like it but I understand it

[kaikohe76]

Heathrow Harry,

You are most likely correct, unfortunately it's the world we live in. When going through the security process, hold your breath, count to ten & think of your first G & T when you are sitting on that beach.

[Planemike]

but then when do they get their fun?

They are underpaid and treat like dirt by their employers and the airports so they take it out on the SLF

I dont like it but I understand it


Why should we put up with this sort of treatment, it is not necessary??

[Hotel Tango]

It comes down to individuals. At those airports which I use regularly I find the majority of security staff to be pleasant and polite, but from time to time I come across the oddball who is determined to spoil my and everyone else's day. You get these miserable disgruntled types in all professions.

[Heathrow Harry]

"Why should we put up with this sort of treatment, it is not necessary??"

I agree but you are dealing with people here - not robots. People who have a dull, boring job tend to take their fun where they can - putting socks into cans of tomatoes, threatening innocent people with arrest, setting fires deliberatley so they can run down there in their fire engine, insisting ALL forms are filled out EXACTLY before you get a tax refund............

[sunnybunny]

I feel your pain having experienced it myself. I went through EDI late last year and missed my BE flight back to BHX by milliseconds despite doing the 'Home Alone style run' to the gate, they had literally just closed the gate.

Now most people would say "you should have got there earlier" etc blah etc but I joined the security queue with over 50 minutes until dep time and still never made it.

Had to go back to check-in and the lovely member of staff shouted to her colleague "we've got another one, security is shocking today". Thankfully it wasn't the last flight of the day and they didn't charge me to switch, gave me a lounge pass and free fast track.

They actually had security go back and track me through CCTV to make sure I wasn't fibbing and my story checked out, I think it was something like 51 minutes from joining the queue to getting out the other side. It wasn't even remotely busy hence my choice not to fast track but I was far too committed to turn around and chance leaving the queue.

Flybe logged a formal complaint and so did I. Still waiting for a response :ugh:
Just out of curiosity, if you miss your flight because of security delays the airline has to pick up the pieces?

Kinda curious if I was booked for a week away and missed the charter flight that only ran once a week then I couldn't make the trip. Who would I seek remedy from?

The whole thing makes me very wary of flying these days.

[carousel]

Get there early

[ExXB]

SunnyBunny,

Read the terms and conditions which vary, slightly, from airline to airline, I suspect you will find that it is your responsibility to be at the gate on time.

You remember the terms and conditions don't you? That was the thing you agreed to when you had to check a box (saying you read and agreed with them) when buying on line.

It really depends on the airline if they will give you a refund or a credit. It wasn't their fault you didn't get there on time for your flight.

[Nightstop]

No idea what the above has got to do with EDI security!

Anyway, I used EDI security last week and found the process OK. Apart from an elderly lady in front of me who didn't have a clue what to do with the trays in front of her, it went quite smoothly. Staff were pleasant, chatty & appeared cheerful. Didn't take long to get through either.

[edi_local]

I've not had any problems in recent times either and going but the comments on the boards, not many people have. There are always whingers I see, but they are in a minority. I don't think I've waited more than 10 minutes or so in the past few months.

Still, the main problem with the "stand on the number" approach is that you could be stuck behind a slow person and also anyone who is in the position closest to the xray machine can often be waiting ages for a gap in the trays. Also, you can't really prepare while you're waiting behind someone, so it's really just moving the queue to another area. I'm not sure that it's the best system, but EDI is not alone in using it. A lot of airports have adopted the method. At least EDI seems to have sorted the staffing issues and things move a bit more smoothly now.

[A350Saltire]

It does appear like the system is working better at last. Lots of positive comments about security and how quick it is in between the odd moan.

[Just another SLF]

Very regular user of EDI and still think security is abject. There seem to be a number of different issues, some process, some technology, some staff...

Can take 5 mins from being asked to stand on the number to actually get your bag on the conveyor, so you have to think of that as queueing time that they've conveniently managed to disguise.

If you get sent through the queue for the body scanner, you're separated from your bags (and can't see them) for some time. One friend had an iPad nicked from his tray in that situation, and it's a real worry when you don't know what someone may be doing to your bag out of your view.

There seems to be a much higher reject rate on bags than other airports - something like 30% appear to be head off to be checked. With not enough space / staff to handle this, queues develop and there are dozens of people milling around the post-screening area - made worse by people not using the repacking areas when they can see their other tray behind the plexi.

The staff ALWAYS seem to put the bags they've checked back through the scanner, even when they know exactly what the issue was and have identified it. This creates even more congestion and milling around the belts and more frustration and delay for the traveller.

They seem to forget that the end-to-end time and experience through security is what counts. They've tried to make it look like there are much smaller queues before the scan, but done so by making the process from arriving near the belt to finally walking out of the hall longer, less coherent and much, much worse.

Went out through EDI on Friday and back from DUB yesterday and the difference was chalk and cheese. The "old way" wasn't broken, so there was no need to fix it.