flyingtincan
4th Nov 2021, 08:33
Has anyone been through London Stansted in the last week or two, say since mid October.
Were there unusual delays through Security at around 7 to 8 am and at Border Control in mid evening.
In the pre-corvid days there would be up to 20 minutes for each . Are delays much more now?
Anyone working there got any up to date info?
Thanks
flyingtincan
11th Nov 2021, 15:10
I will answer my own question - going out at 7am, midweek, took about 10 minutes through security. Plenty of lanes open. Airport quite busy.
Coming back at 8am (not as at 8pm due to change of plans) got straight through e-passport gates in under five minutes .
Alsacienne
15th Nov 2021, 21:41
Here are my observations based on my first flight to and from STN since 2019, as a former regular visitor to STN.
I flew in on 5.11 on FR9773, arriving around 13H30. Having taken the transit to immigration, I was surprised to see that there was no differentiation between EU and UK passports, the commonality being if the passport could be used in the E-gates. However, the queueing system was the most heavily used I'd ever seen for this time of day, with no possibility of social distancing ... and of course no social distancing being observed. The waiting area had been reorganised to be double the width of pre-COVID which meant that there was a sizeable distance to be covered, and anyone with mobility problems (not in a wheelchair or making use of 'special assistance') would have been in considerable discomfort (or worse) after having walked this distance along the snaking lines. The gates worked well, and my luggage was on the belt by the time I reached the baggage delivery area ... and had been for some time.
There seemed to be nobody in evidence in the customs area - though I'm sure we were all observed remotely.
My pre-booked appointment for an antigen test at the Collinson walk through centre in arrivals was efficiently and courteously handled with a kind and professional testing official and I had my result in 30 mins.
My return flight was late this morning on FR9772. The airline's check-in procedure was smooth and professional with very little queueing and was a pleasure compared to the waits and short tempers of old. Security seemed to be moving satisfactorily though it did take me about 15 minutes to get to the trays and then straight through. Again, the staff were professional and pleasant - not like the aggressive shouted instructions of the past.
My thoughts are that if I had been in a hurry on my arrival, it might have been a good idea to have pre-booked the fast track lane for immigration (which was actually empty). On my return there was no fast service available ... it had all been pre-booked, so my suggestions are:-
* know exactly what time your flight leaves and how long you need to get to the gate on a flight from Stansted and check in early
* be prepared for queues and be delighted if things go faster than you expect
* HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND TRY TO AVOID PERSONAL STRESS ... allow yourself a bit of extra time before you need to be somewhere else.
So despite my misgivings, a generally pleasant passage in both directions, with fewer people than in the pre-COVID past.