Zurich - Gatwick
 

I was on Easyjet Zurich to London Gatwick last night 21.20 and after passing passport control at Zurich we got to the gate , E52
There was an announcement that we needed to queue at the gate and have our Passports and Boarding passes checked at a stand alone desk without a computer terminal and we were checked by a man in a suit, online printed boarding pass stamped and sent to the gate girl and given a regular Swissair paper boarding pass

Then when called forward to board the same girl scanned the Swissair boarding pass and we were allowed on

The only reason I could think is that Easyjet needed the plane on a domestic stand at Gatwick and we were clearing UK Passort control, in Zurich, but no compter to check for undesirables??

But no when we got to LGW we still had to go through UK Border control

After getting in the UK successfully I asked the UK Border staff supervisor what that was all about and no idea, nothing to do with them

Any experts in Easyjet what was going on or what had they got wrong??

If it helps the gate next to us was a Easyjet flight to Manchester and they were having to do the same

They've been doing that in Switzerland for flights to UK for 10 years or more.

Its checking you have the right to enter the UK so the airline doesnt get fined

Not just Zurich, also happens in Geneva and Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and anywhere with a direct flight to the UK.

As the Man says it's to save the airline a fine and a return ticket.

I had that in Germany flying Lufthansa back last year but that was a one and only time. I suspect it's not comprehensive.

Agree Me too :O http://www.imgquick.com/images/43.gif

They used to do it at Geneva, but they haven't for the last year or so - at least for the BA flights.

I was the No.1 on the MAN flight next door to yours. Various airports/ground agents etc have their own way of doing things. A few curious things happen across the network which aren't strictly Easyjet standard. Boarding cards etc would never be anything to do with immigration so asking them would always get the answer you were given and checking passports before boarding is standard. Curiously some passengers, on the MAN atleast, had home printed boarding cards at the aircraft door and whilst I don't actually know why you were re-issued with a swissport boarding card, there will have been a good reason for it.

easyflyer

>there will have been a good reason for it. <

Are you REALLY sure of that?

Absolutely, although i conceed that it may not be apparent to the passenger but people don't just do things like that for no reason whatsoever. Do you make extra work for yourself needlessly?

That's going to be quite a collectors item; Swissair went out of business in 2002.

Presumably you mean Swissport who are the largest handling agent at ZRH.