Checking boarding pass at plane door – why?
 

I had this done on an Air Malta flight out of MLA for the first time today. I asked if they were going to start doing it every week and they said yes – it’s a new procedure. BA already does this out of LHR and it really bugs me. I can’t see the point. The boarding pass is already checked at security, at passport control and at the gate. What purpose does checking it again at the aircraft door achieve? All it seems to do is slow boarding of the aircraft down – cue lots of tourist rummaging round in handbags and pockets for boarding passes at the aircraft door, holding up the queue. :ugh:

Hopefully after a few weeks they will just forget about it and not bother.

One more check doesn't hurt, does it? Checking at security has nothing to do with what flight you are on. They don't care. They just want you to have a boarding pass which is valid and shows you are authorised to be airside (hence why they don't check ID in a lot of places either). A lot of airlines/airports/ground handlers still only carry out visual checks of boarding cards and don't use digital scanners. In the off chance someone slips through who shouldn't be on that plane then the cabin crew door check is one more safety net.

You'll soon get used to showing your boarding card long before they stop asking for it!

Anyway, I like stepping on a BA plane (for example) and being told "Good morning Mr edi_local, just up/down there on the right/left". I know they don't need to do it, but it is just a nice touch. It doesn't hurt to have your boarding card in your pocket, ready to be shown again.

Having a VERY short term memory, I always have the boarding card in my hand, so I know which seat to aim for, so if they want to check it on entering the aircraft, no problem.

Although airline systems are designed to be full proof, they keep bringing on better fools. I'm sure KM is doing it for a reason, probably because some fool got on the wrong flight.

Recall a flight to BRS on an orange airplane a while ago. Before door closed frantic crews counting and recounting of passenger numbers, then an announcement "This is Squeezy flight 123 to Bristol ..., has anyone boarded this aircraft by mistake? Repeated in school girl French ... Silence, pause. Another announcement "We have an extra passenger on board, would anybody who is not flying to Bristol today please identify themselves to the crew?" Repeated in even worst French ... silence, pause.

Finally, ladies and Gentlemen, would you please have your boarding cards available for inspection, thank you. Repeated in, we'll you know, French ...

Finally a young man, in his late teens is escorted off the plane, protesting in very good French, that he thought he was flying to "Loo Ton".

And that's why many airlines check the boarding at the door.

True Story, and U2 crew did check our boarding cards for that flight.

Is it really that hard to have your boarding card ready?

It is a CAA requirement (I believe) so all UK airlines certainly do it. It does highlight instances, albeit rare, when someone attempts to board the wrong flight.

Directing people to seats is not primarily why the cards are checked but contrary to the OP's views, directing pax to seats actually speeds up boarding, particularly on wide bodies, but even on narrow bodies some people just don't have a clue.

I'm just bemused that you are put out by having to show your boarding pass one final time but don't mind putting in the effort to post and complain about having to do so, on the Internet.

EF, can't speak for the OP but some people don't like change. Particularly when they don't see, or haven't be told ,the reason for the change.

Flying these days is theatre. Well thought out rules are perceived as being silly, or intended to confuse, or to irritate. (I exclude security from this statement as there are no well thought out rules in their domain and their entire existence is intended to be silly, confusing and irritating) Take my example above where a standing policy simply failed in its purpose, but follow up procedures did prevent things going too pear shaped.

Managing the introduction of change is a science and when it is done poorly it leads to unintended consequences, and unhappy customers.

With regard to the op - this has been the norm for every flight I have been on [UK/Europe/Asia/US] for the last 10 years.
Why get so upset - it could be worse - you could be flyng with Ryanair!

No but apparently it is for most of the tourists in front of me who had stuffed them into bags/pockets unable to find them at short notice. :ugh:

You haven't been to Malta much have you? ;)

Only had it on BA and EZ until today. Never had it on other carriers.

Obviously a personal preference. IME any human interaction moving through an airport requiring SLF to provide some sort of documentation or information is a potential fail point in the process that can cause delays. I’d like to see as much of removed as possible. But then again I’d sooner send an email or SMS than walk across the office to speak to a colleague :8

Amen brother :ok:

To have to show your boarding card yet again is an admission that either the system and/or the staff are rubbish. The last time you should have to flash your boarding card is at the gate. Security - rubbish! CAA requirement? - No. At long last we have dropped this final insult to our passengers.

Well it's a boarding pass isn't it? This means you need to show it to board.

All the other checks are the unnecessary ones. Lots of departments jumping on the authority band wagon.

Thought this one would be in the FAQ...
 

t1grm

Like others, I thought that this has been standard practice in any airline for the past 10 years or so.

As you said, things may be different in Malta (lucky you!).

This topic has been covered pretty well here...

http://www.pprune.org/passengers-slf...raft-door.html

Checking board passes at the door has/can have multiple functions:

To make sure that your handling agent's people on fast food wages haven't sent you a passenger who should be be boarding from the adjacent gate.

To be able to say "Down this aisle and your seat's on your right" instead of having a passenger heading to the sharp end instead of the blunt end and having to scramble over the seats because he/she is in the aisle for HJK and has an ABC seat

To be able to say "Welcome on board, Mr RevMan2" (if you're a Qantas purser).

And - by the way - is this REALLY a problem?

No, this is not really a problem. What is the problem is how KM managed the implementation of their new policy. A simple announcement at the gate, preferably including a reason for the change, could have avoided this.

Too often passengers are confronted with inconsistent and changing procedures that they must follow. Is it so difficult letting them know what's expected of them?

I also see it as being a problem that despite the billions spent on airline and security systems that it is still possible for a passenger to board the wrong aircraft. A manual check at the door, which doesn't always work, shouldn't be the solution to this real problem.

I've seen a pax getting to the cabin door on a BA flight. He was turned back, as he wanted to go Edinburgh and not Frankfurt! BA CC tell me that they see it about once or twice a year, which isn't often, of course. I believe it's more common in the US where they don't do that check.

Really? It really bugs you? I'm just trying to recalibrate the scale for things in life that register even briefly on my "Things That Irritate Me" Radar. You were asked for your Boarding Card at the aircraft door - I assume that a further request for your passport would have generated some sort of psychotic murder spree? Sometimes, I really have to shake my head and wonder...

The UK CAA mandates the checking of Boarding Cards and Security Passes at the aircraft door as part of the Access Control protocols. In the U.S. the TSA applies similar procedures, although in the U.S. they actively "test" using TSA staff (They may also do so in the UK, it's just that I haven't seen it). I don't know what the Malta security protocols are

This tends not to be how things in aviation work. We don't just make things up to irritate people and the write them on the back of a cigarette packet before losing them somewhere.

Get a grip. Who’s talking about a psychotic murder spree? :rolleyes: I simply posted up something that I found a minor irritation as a point of discussion and you are talking about murder! Why get so uptight about what someone has posted on an internet forum? Perhaps you are the one that needs to recalibrate the scale for things in life? :suspect:

Unfortunately going through an airport nowadays is full of irritating procedures and events – some minor – some major. So whilst this is a minor irritation it’s yet another one on an ever growing list that is gradually making commuting by plane an intolerable experience. I might even move back to the UK and go back to sitting on the M25 for 2 hours a day. :{

That tends not to be my experience. I regularly have to do things going through an airport one week and the next week going through the same airport no one mentions a thing about it and it’s not done. As a commuter that is one of the most frustrating parts. I don’t mind conforming to processes and procedures – as long as there is consistency. We will see how long this door check lasts with KM. I will post weekly updates. My bet is that it will have died out by the end of the month. :hmm:

My experience with non UK and US airlines (at least the ones I use) is that cc don't ask for boarding passes with the exception of boarding long haul heavies. In that particular case I suspect it's done not only as a final check but also to guide pax in the appropriate direction and along the appropriate aisle to their seats. It doesn't bother me either way although non-standardisation of procedures can be just a little irritating at times. For example one particular carrier I use don't follow this procedure on their own a/c with their own cc. However, they also operate a few leased a/c (but still in their own livery) which are crewed by British crews. Their cc will follow their company sops and check passes on boarding. Understandably, this catches many people out who regularly fly on that carrier but perhaps seldom on the leased a/c.

Bottom line is play safe and just keep your pass handy in case. Certainly not worth getting upset about.

LOL!
 

t1grm

Gotta laugh mate! :}

When I read things like

I get the feeling it's a bit more than a 'minor irritation'.

So you started a thread about a 'minor irritation', yet expect that the situation that caused you to start this thread will be gone in a few weeks, rendering the thread pointless....:ouch:

It does bug me that the crew can't trust the gate staff at the other end of the airbridge to do their jobs. Twice in thirty feet?

How many times has the gate staff let through someone they shouldn't?