London Stansted :- Do they weigh bags at security?

[IB4138]

There are two issues here.

The one bag through security rule, which is all well and good and the other being the purchase of goods airside being penalized by rechecking of hand baggage for number of pieces and weight at the gate by airlines.

Pax are not going to make purchases airside, if the airline is then going to charge them for the carriage of those purchases. Is this not a restraint of trade, which needs looking at?

After all, are the airline going to charge and reweigh hand baggage in flight if a purchase is made on the aircraft? Of course not as they have made the profit on the sale.

[Seat62K]

Good point! I can't see Ryanair insisting that onboard purchases which are not consumed must fit into passengers' one piece of hand luggage!

[lplsprog]

Not many airport operators in these times want or could increase fees to airlines. Just see what Ryanair would do if that happened, MOL would throw his rattle out if the pram again.

[Thaimike]

Excess baggage

I agree with the one piece of hand baggage that is within the size/weight limits going through security, I have no real problem with the extra check at boarding gate area, but if you have purchased items airside and these are contained within bags packed inside these outlets then sense should prevail and these are allowed on board at no extra cost. This must be understood by the likes of MOL. If he wants to land/take off and have check-in facilities all at a low cost then the airport has a right to make money somewhere without the pax being further penalised!!

[bizdev]

Confirmation of previous posts - I went through Stansted a couple of weeks ago and when I got to the security entrance, the security officer who checks your boarding pass asked me to put my bag on the scales - I said to him that I did not see the point as I am flying with easyJet who did not have a weight limit - he replied that it was for health and safety reasons.

[Sikpupi]

ThaiMike....agree 100% with you.

MOL's theory to teh Airports is that 'you reduce airport charges - we'll deliver passengers and it is up to you to get the maximun revenue from them when they land and depart'. So..he can't turn around now and tell the airports that the passengers can't carry on a bag of duty free/ airport purchase etc as an additional bag!!

CAn't see airports (especially where the airport staff also so the boarding) playing hard-ball on this rule.

Now..passengers taking the mick with 2-3 mini suitcases - well that would get on anyones goat and that passenger will need a short sharp lesson and a hefty fine in the pocket will be the only cure. I personnaly would get great joy if I was in the queue seeing a passenger get singled out for that!!!

Sikky

[muppetbum]

get yourself one of these

solve all your handbaggage weight limiots with one of these coats
SCOTTEVEST/SeV iPod Clothing and Travel Clothing Solutions, Technology Enabled Clothes, Multi-Pocket Gear Apparel for Gadgets

my hubby has the shell and fleece combo. It has about 47 pockets , one of which is capable of holding a laptop!! He can support the weight of his handluggage with one finger but it takes two people to lift his coat

[A2QFI]

I have given up on the LoCO airlines - incomprehenible pricing, hidden extras, batty flight times, no seat selection. I now pay a bit extra, get baggage checked in free, select seats during on-line check-in and don't have to be at the airport at stupid o'clock to check in for a flight which lands 70 miles from where I want to be (Frankfurt/Hahn). They used to be cheap and reasonable value - they are now neither of these

[shuttle4zulu]

I have been following this thread and have to say was dreading my STN experience..I can say now however that today I flew FR to BHD with no problems whatsoever, in fact it the smoothest transit I have ever had through any UK Airport and believe me when I say I have been through most in connection with work.

I was so panicked in fact that I turned up at STN -4hrs in case anything went pear shaped but no, my printed boarding card scanned, maybe slightly too big bag not even given a second glance, security staff courteous, friendly boarding staff and an early departure to boot.

Word of warning though, if you have printed off your boarding card make sure your printer is printing clearly, mine wouldn't scan at BFS, this was remedied by a short walk to check-in where a no hassle, no cost solution was offered..may not have been the same at STN but I was cute enough to have my hotel print me off some new ones just in case.

[ladylily63]

We have just booked flights with Ryanair to Alicante and I was wondering this very same question. How do they enforce the hand baggage weight if you have used the online check in facility?

We normally pay for hold baggage but have decided to cut costs and weight and try the hand baggage approach as only a 4 night stay

[extralegroom]

It obviously goes without saying that if you're using online check-in, you're bypassing all the airport check-in desks and going straight to security. Which means no-one, up until that point, has checked that the weight of your hand baggage falls within the airline's stipulated limits. So at the entrance to the central search area at Stansted, where the BAA guards check your boarding passes, they will usually ask for any large-ish items of hand baggage to be placed on the scales. What they say then depends on what the scales say, and on which airline you're flying with. If it's easyJet, they have to let you away with whatever weight the bag is (as easyJet have no limit on cabin baggage weight) but if it's over a certain amount (not sure what) they'll put a "heavy" tag on it, for health and safety reasons so they say. If however, you're flying with Ryanair, then each bag must weigh less than 10 kilos or you'll be sent to check-in and charged there at the airport rate for checking a bag in AND using an airport check-in desk. So beware.

[TightSlot]

but if it's over a certain amount (not sure what) they'll put a "heavy" tag on it, for health and safety reasons so they say.

This appears to be a very sensible and reasonable practice - you appear to doubt that it is the true reason? Can you tell us why?

[ThreadBaron]

'Heavy' tags are attached to bags over 32kgs. Seems sensible to me. Tells the handlers that two of them should hoick it, Sorry, 'team handle'.

for health and safety reasons so they say.

So, they say correctly! Why the cynicism?

[extralegroom]

It's BAA's inconsistencies which frustrate me. If this is a health and safety concern then why is it only at Stansted that they weigh your bags at this stage? With countless other airlines you can check-in online and, if travelling with hand baggage only, proceed directly to security. So why don't the BAA at Heathrow or Gatwick (where arguably, BA passengers are the worst offenders for weighty hand luggage) adopt the same policy there? That's where the "cynicism" comes from.

[TightSlot]

Thanks - fair enough

[blackace]

Well it will all change soon. Currently there are many concerns that check-in staff are letting through overweight bags. STN are going to install new conveyors that will simply not accept the bag if it is over the preset limit.

This is good for the airline, but not so good for either the check-in staff or the passenger. Imagine the delays caused by being just a few grams overweight.

This is being adopted at all BAA Airports.