Bristol: Airport Security, Immigration & Border Control

[TheLocalYokel]

Could the airport themselves employ more staff. From my experience at CWL the e-gates are manned by CWL personnel i believe. Is that the same at BRS or is it out sourced? I think the security personnel are also CWL employed is that the same at BRS?

I think the BRS security people are contractors. The problem is the huge differentials within the peaks and troughs.

Taking Friday's departures as an example (see post #79) it's clear that there needs to be many more staff early in the morning than in mid morning and then it begins to get busy again at lunchtime. This uneven pattern continues for the rest of the day. Same applies to arrivals which is primarily the concern of the Border Agency.

What may need to happen is a recognition that if the airport wants good quality and sufficient security staff they will have to pay for them with improved remuneration, whether as an employer or via contractors' contracts. Spending numerous millions on infrastructure improvements to improve passenger handling is a waste if they cut corners when it comes to fielding sufficient staff to operate these improvements.

 

[kraktoa]

I saw the chaos today. 3600 Arriving passengers between 12:30 and 13:45 ish.

The hall cannot hold these passengers so they have to wait away from the staircase leading into the arrivals hall. The staircase is a H&S issue so pax are held in western walkways and central walkways by the airport Customer service agents. The wait can be upto 15-20 mins. They will complain. Try waiting 15 min in a corridor.

Once they enter the immigration hall the wait to be processed is between 15-30 min depending upon how many immigration staff are available.

For departing passengers its worse. Previously you pushed a bag along rollers. Now you cant. The rollers move electrically at snail pace. The bags move at snail pace. Log jam. The wait can be 45 min to 1.5 hrs.

Departing security are ICTS staff, private contractors and i have mentioned in the past the horrible working conditions and staff turnover.

Arrivals hall is Border Force. All civil sevants. Large scale cuts in staffing and no pay rises for civil servants for 9 years as mentioned in media. They too are leaving for other civil service jobs with better working conditions.

The airport as i have said has got too big too soon.

 

[tpm]

Not helped, I should add, by the fact that the airport wifi doesn't cover the waiting areas. In the immigration hall you *might* get a weak signal if you're lucky, up in the corridors not so much. Less of a problem now with free EU roaming of course, but still.

 

[kraktoa]

The airport made a big play of spending millions for a new security departures hall. I said this since last year. They have moved the problem upstairs to a bigger hall. No more snaking queues from first floor to ground floor. Just lots of queues in first floor. I said it last year that the bags are now moving far too slowly in the security search area as the rollers are electronic. That is the major issue from the glitzy revamp.

The arrivalsborder force hall is mch bigger. The 10 new egates are working brilliantly. They are processing passengers at great speed. But the passengers need help to use th gates. There are staff helping during major peaks. The staircase is the bottleneck and i have banged on about it. They had a chance to sort it during the revamp but completely ignored it.

Furthermore with the current security and terrorism threat the checks on departing and arriving passengers has been revamped upwards. It is not like what it was 5 years ago. The checks are far more stringent. That also adds to the waiting times.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's not just BRS, not just airports. I was at St Pancras a few weeks ago and the queues for the Eurostar trains at security and immigration were horrendous and slow-moving. You also have to manhandle your suitcases there as well. At least with airports they will have been checked in.

Gare du Nord on the return was even worse if that's possible and they were only serving one Eurostar destination.

My wife and I have been using Eurostar in recent years as we've become fed up with the hassle at airports but now the Eurostar station experience is getting as bad as that at many airports (arrive at Melbourne Tullamarine in the morning peak of inter-continental arrivals and your immigration wait will only be an hour on a good day; DXB is a madhouse 24 hours a day).

If EXT or CWL flew where we wanted to go we would try them to see if quieter airports really are a visit to the fondly remembered past.

One thing is certain, the BRS owners aren't going to pull back and slow down the growth. If people continue to put up with what is on offer, and there seems little sign of them not doing so as these queues have been around for several years at peak times, then lengthy and slow-moving queues will continue to feature.

 

[andrewgreen]

The airport made a big play of spending millions for a new security departures hall. I said this since last year. They have moved the problem upstairs to a bigger hall. No more snaking queues from first floor to ground floor. Just lots of queues in first floor. I said it last year that the bags are now moving far too slowly in the security search area as the rollers are electronic. That is the major issue from the glitzy revamp.

The arrivalsborder force hall is mch bigger. The 10 new egates are working brilliantly. They are processing passengers at great speed. But the passengers need help to use th gates. There are staff helping during major peaks. The staircase is the bottleneck and i have banged on about it. They had a chance to sort it during the revamp but completely ignored it.

Furthermore with the current security and terrorism threat the checks on departing and arriving passengers has been revamped upwards. It is not like what it was 5 years ago. The checks are far more stringent. That also adds to the waiting times.

If the belts are electronic surely its possible to speed them up ? but th eproblem there might be that the passenger going through the screening might take longer than the bags hence a similar log jam .
I agree the stairs in arrivals are a big problem but what could they have done about them ?
Maybe these issues will be looked at by the new ceo

 

[kraktoa]

The airport have also started something quite comical.

You know as you enter the imigration hall in every major airport in the world, the queuing system goes back and forth before you reach the head of the queue to see either security or immigration. That is understandable as that is the only queuing system that works. I get this, but passengers always complain as to why they are being made to snake back and forth.

Now the airport is making passengers snake in queues back and forth in the holding areas in the walkways. There is a photo on twitter of this. It shows that the system has really reached breaking point. The passengers know that they are walking up and down the barriers and going nowhere. Just into another corridor before they even reach the arrivals immigration hall.

 

[kraktoa]

It's not just BRS, not just airports. I was at St Pancras a few weeks ago and the queues for the Eurostar trains at security and immigration were horrendous and slow-moving. You also have to manhandle your suitcases there as well. At least with airports they will have been checked in.

Gare du Nord on the return was even worse if that's possible and they were only serving one Eurostar destination.

My wife and I have been using Eurostar in recent years as we've become fed up with the hassle at airports but now the Eurostar station experience is getting as bad as that at many airports (arrive at Melbourne Tullamarine in the morning peak of inter-continental arrivals and your immigration wait will only be an hour on a good day; DXB is a madhouse 24 hours a day).

If EXT or CWL flew where we wanted to go we would try them to see if quieter airports really are a visit to the fondly remembered past.

One thing is certain, the BRS owners aren't going to pull back and slow down the growth. If people continue to put up with what is on offer, and there seems little sign of them not doing so as these queues have been around for several years at peak times, then lengthy and slow-moving queues will continue to feature.

Gare du Nord is indeed unique. There are trains every hr or every 30 mins to the UK. All passengers have huge bags that have to go through 3 checks all within few metres of each other. First the train ticket checks at ground level. Then up the escalator to the French police PAF passport check, few metres behind is the UK juxtaposed border passport controls. Then right behind that is the Duaune french customs checks. And every one has large bags. And everyone comes 10 mins before the train is about to leave. Each train takes 600 passengers. I used to cry everyday in that place.

Eurostar never held up a train for passengers as they had fixed times when they had to cross the channel. Miss the slot and heavy penalties had to be paid. So if passengers were held up at any of the check points i mentioned above, the train left without them. Stranding by the hundred were commonplace.

I remember the look on a head of households face when he realised he was stranded as his family of 11 arrived 5 min before train was due to depart. They did not even clear the french police, let aline border force and duaune. The man screamed in anguish. Hotel rooms for 11 in Paris.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Gare du Nord is indeed unique. There are trains every hr or every 30 mins to the UK. All passengers have huge bags that have to go through 3 checks all within few metres of each other. First the train ticket checks at ground level. Then up the escalator to the French police PAF passport check, few metres behind is the UK juxtaposed border passport controls. Then right behind that is the Duaune french customs checks. And every one has large bags. And everyone comes 10 mins before the train is about to leave. Each train takes 600 passengers. I used to cry everyday in that place.

It made BRS at peak times almost seem like a pleasurable experience...................well, perhaps - more likely perhaps not.

 

[kraktoa]

It made BRS at peak times almost seem like a pleasurable experience...................well, perhaps - more likely perhaps not.

BRS any day. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world but the Gare du Nord experience for passenger handlers is far too stressful. The other issue was the horrible price of beer and food and the palpable fear of violent robberies in the metro or underground and streets especially during very early starts and late finishes.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I know I'm going off topic but Brussels Midi is a far less stressful Eurostar experience than Gare du Nord or was the last time I used it. Back to BRS, does the management ever seek the views of those at the coalface, either formally or informally?

 

[kraktoa]

Yes indeed they do at senior management levels. I believe the exchanges are quite robust. But growth and profit outflanks everything else. As long as the cash is rolling in and bonuses being paid, they will fill their boots. Growth and profit will never be sacrificed in the short term. Thats the way of a capitalist model and cant argue with that.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes indeed they do at senior management levels. I believe the exchanges are quite robust. But growth and profit outflanks everything else. As long as the cash is rolling in and bonuses being paid, they will fill their boots. Growth and profit will never be sacrificed in the short term. Thats the way of a capitalist model and cant argue with that.

Indeed, I've been making that very point in a conversation with someone else this morning - not just with BRS I ought to add.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The airport issued a press release this week about summer issues and terminal congestion (they used a euphemism - busy) was highlighted. See below:

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...dia-centre/2017/6/summer-2017-security-advice

Bristol Airport urges passengers to be prepared this summer
Created: 27th Jun 2017

More than a decade since the introduction of limits on liquids being taken through airport security in passengers’ hand luggage, many holidaymakers are still unclear of the rules.

Ahead of the busy summer holiday season, Bristol Airport is urging travellers to separate liquids into containers of 100ml or less and place them in a transparent re-sealable bag before travelling, and to set off early to allow time to complete the security screening process before boarding their flights.

Liquids make up the vast majority of rejected bags – last month alone 44,965 passengers required further searches of their bags because they did not follow the rules around the carrying of liquids – this caused a total delay time to passengers of a massive 1411 hours. One incorrectly packed bag containing items prohibited in hand luggage can mean an additional 15 minutes at security for its owner – with knock-on delays for other passengers.

Chris Morgan, Head of Security at Bristol Airport, said:
“We recommend passengers sort their liquids in advance and set off early to allow plenty of time to complete check-in and security processes. Doing so will help to prevent unnecessary delays and the stress which can result when the clock is ticking and you have a plane to catch.”

A major terminal extension was completed earlier this year, with an enlarged and enhanced security search area at the heart of the £24 million structure. Featuring 10 security lanes and a separate Fast Track channel, all utilising state-of-the-art x-rays, metal detectors and security scanners, the new facility will enable the Airport to handle record passenger numbers this summer. But the terminal is still busy at peak travel times - with Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and Tuesday afternoon seeing a higher than average number of departing passengers. Passengers are advised to check in at least two hours before departure, particularly when travelling at these times.

Recent developments, including the opening of a first on-site hotel, and construction of a new customer reception centre for the Silver Zone car park, will take investment at Bristol Airport since 2010 to more than £160 million.

The route network available from Bristol Airport is also growing, with direct flights to more than 120 destinations and frequent daily services to major hubs including Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin and Frankfurt. Last month, Thomson Airways commenced flights to Florida and Mexico using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, highlighting the scope for more direct long-haul destinations in future.

Bristol Airport has been ranked number one in the UK by the customer satisfaction benchmarking programme, Airport Service Quality (ASQ), for the last three quarters running.

 

[kraktoa]

Papers reporting that a man who owns a novelty presents business was caught trying to take a knife disguised as a baguette in his hand luggage at bristol. Ofcourse the x rays found it.

The article made a joke of it. No mention of him being questioned by the police. Strange that.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Papers reporting that a man who owns a novelty presents business was caught trying to take a knife disguised as a baguette in his hand luggage at bristol. Ofcourse the x rays found it.

The article made a joke of it. No mention of him being questioned by the police. Strange that.

This is the report.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-airport-seizes-knife-disguised-156408

It seems the man has used the incident to publicise his business. I fail to see why any responsible person would sell a bread knife disguised as a baguette. The mind boggles as to the use such an item could be put to in the wrong hands.

 

[superking]

In this weeks Weston mercury that I C T S have a advert for security staff at the airport. I don't know if this is extra staff with the problems at the airport or staff to top up to the numbers they say will work the operation.

 

[kraktoa]

To add to the passengers woes twitter has seen many complaints in the past 24 -36 hours.

The airport appears to be compounding the issue by claiming that the wait for arriving passengers has been 19 min when in fact it is much mch longer as per the passengers.

To add to the problem there is a longer wait now for bags and lo and behold the key collection service at the silver zone car parking has been moved into a porta cabin. There are pictures of it on twitter. Why make such massive changes in the summer period.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

One of the first tasks for the new CEO, whoever it turns out to be, to address.

 

[superking]

Someone at the airport passport control has a red face and more than likely a severe ticking off at least. The EasyJet flight from PRG last Friday night landed at 23.00 hrs. THEY were accidentally sent through the domestic arrival area by ground staff. No one on the flight had their passports checked till airport staff rounded as many as they could find as some had already left the airport. Sounds like fred karnoes army Makes you wonder if its happened before,and will it happen in the future. I would have thought there was some sort of back up to stop this happening. Not gone through there since its been extended,as my question is how easy is it to make a mistake like this happening,if easy perhaps a few alterations with the terminal to prevent this happening again.