Future Infrastructure Developments

[Aviador]

I have been watching the construction of the walkway for a few months now. Tarn Spotter has correctly pointed out the side walls for some reason don't go all the way to the floor. If this is the finished product then I really don't think the airport have thought it through.

When it snows in the winter months the plough clearing the main airside road will force ice and snow under the gap and into the walkway.... One would hope some sort of side skirt can be added when they make the finishing touches. This would make the whole structure weather proof and far more appealing to the pax.

The rain and snow falling horizontally at LBA is somewhat a problem during the winter months.
( between August and June )

There's a good 6 inch gap at the top too.

 

[Jordan-34092]

On this artist impression of the walkway if you notice the side walls don't go all the way down to floor so i am presuming this is the finished product. What they would be best doing is having panels that can be moved down into place to cover the bottom but also can be moved up so that in winter they can be used to keep the elements out but in summer to be positioned up to let cool air blow in and out of the walkway to stop it getting too hot and stuffy inside for passengers. Just a thought.

 

[Bigman]

Why am I not surprised at the bull job they have done with it. I bet the person who designed it never even thought about the impact bad weather might have on it (but still got paid a tidy sum no doubt!!).

 

[wawkrk]

One more point about the walkway, it's a bit too narrow so the slow walkers,the aged and families with push chairs create a blockage for the fit people who stampede through to immigration.

 

[lbaspotter]

God-Dam it, The airport pay for a walk way to be built and still now its built some people are never happy or pleased about it.

All I will say something is better than nothing. And if it keeps me dry next time i walk to an aircraft I'll be happy. You just can't please everyone all the time....

 

[LBA787]

God-Dam it, The airport pay for a walk way to be built and still now its built some people are never happy or pleased about it.

Nobody said they were displeased the airport has built the walkway! We are just expressing our disappointment that nobody even engages their brain and rectifies faults before they are built. That silly attitude of well I'm just glad the airport have built something doesn't wash with me. Why should the people of yorkshire always be happy with second best?

 

[rmac]

I am sure there is a perfectly good reason for it, I have seen similar walkways that have a 150mm gap at the bottom so it would be interesting to know the official line on this one.

 

[lbia]

Well don't forget the prevailing wind at Leeds is from the south west, so pretty much 90 degrees to the walkway. I'd imagine there is only so much pressure the structure can take so having gaps allows the wind to disperse.

Whilst I think lbaspotter has gone a bit too far barking down everyone's necks, his point is valid. It is better than what previously was in place. The big concern that I, and a LOT of others have is that there is no budget for an escalator or even a lift when passenger enter the terminal from the walkway. I think this is disgusting how passengers have to walk up steps. Walking from stand 14 to the terminal is a dam long walk for the elderly/less able and when they finally get there there is not even a lift. I have measured the walk, from stand 14 through immigration and down through baggage reclaim us just shy of 1km. With no moving walkways, escalators or lifts and two flights to stairs to climb and not a single chair for people to rest on,I think it's a huge safety risk recipe for disaster. Oh and despite the increase in flights, no increased PRM/wheelchair budget next year. So more passengers will need assistance due to the massive walk but no more staff to help. Good old LBA penny pinching as usual. I'd appreciate it if white heather could raise this at the next committee meeting.

 

[Aviador]

One vital point you are missing LBAspotter is both Tarn Spotter and Wawkrk are paying airport "customers". They both make valid points and they shouldn't be ignored. Lets not forget, from the airports perspective the main reason for the walkway will no doubt be to reduce the number of expensive bus journeys and staffing required for those buses, not so much to keep passengers dry as perhaps some people will have us believe. Don't get me wrong the walkway is a good idea and it will be gratefully received by many, but if the airport is serious about "customer service" they need to listen to these kind of comments and make the necessary alterations to ensure it does what it is meant to do from a customer's perspective. The particular point made by user "lbia" about a lift and escalator at the end of the walkway is by far the most pressing need.

 

[EX9]

Having seen the finished product today i took these, as those have previously mentioned there are a lot of flaws to it and it seems to be cheap substitute for an extension of the terminal adjacent to the apron. There have also been a lot of complaints about the distance and the fact elderly/those with children are having to carry/struggle up the steps, this is a gripe mentioned on almost every flight.
And it is along way to walk, said even by those that are even used to it.

 

[lbaspotter]

One vital point you are missing LBAspotter is both Tarn Spotter and Wawkrk are paying airport "customers". They both make valid points and they shouldn't be ignored. Lets not forget, from the airports perspective the main reason for the walkway will no doubt be to reduce the number of expensive bus journeys and staffing required for those buses, not so much to keep passengers dry as perhaps some people will have us believe. Don't get me wrong the walkway is a good idea and it will be gratefully received by many, but if the airport is serious about "customer service" they need to listen to these kind of comments and make the necessary alterations to ensure it does what it is meant to do from a customer's perspective. The particular point made by user "lbia" about a lift and escalator at the end of the walkway is by far the most pressing need.

Actually I think you'll find that everyone and anyone (Regular user or not) who uses the airport (For Business or Pleasure) is/are valued paying customer (Me Included) to the airport owners Aviador!

Like I said in me earlier post. The airport can’t please everyone, every time it seems.

 

[Bigman]

The steps and long walk issues are interesting and well valid, as I do have mobility issues these days. I would however like to draw an interesting comparison.

A few years ago a flew into Manchester on a Lufthansa flight into T1. We had a fair old walk off the airbridge to start with...followed by having to go down some stairs..then across to the other side of the pier...and then back up some more steps...followed by another long walk...followed by more steps upstairs...and then immediately back down stairs again into baggage reclaim. Already knackered, I then of course had to endure the treck to the railway station (only one out of 3 travelators working on the walkway!). I must have walked the best part of a mile and was pretty shattered by the whole experience.

Trust me when I say that LBA is a doddle compared to Manchester.

 

[airforced]

Bigman. I'm not sure that comparing MAN's poor facilities to LBA's poor facilities and then concluding that all is okay at LBA because they are better than those at MAN is the right way of looking at things. A logical extension of that sort of reasoning would be to say that arsenic (or whatever) tastes better than hemlock so therefore your poison of choice would always be arsenic!

If what lbia says is correct a 1km walk from an aircraft at stand 14 to baggage reclaim without any working escalators is really too much to expect the less mobile and able passengers to accomplish. LBA could and should do better than that. One of their selling points to passengers (when compared to MAN and LHR etc) should be the compactness of the airport and fast transit times because of that compactness. It would be very disappointing if they aren't able to rectify such seemingly small problems in order that the customer experience is enhanced.

 

[Aviador]

Using good old Google Earth I measure the walkway, steps, walk to Immigration and immigration queue snake to be around 600 metres.

 

[lbaspotter]

Well lets go tell Bridgepoint Capital that we didn't need your investment that has transformed the terminal building recently, we dont need this new walkway and nither do we want you extra flights by PIA, Easyjet, Ryanair, Monarch, British Airways and Thomsons.

Lets go back to how things use to be under the councils ownership ehh. Crap passenger experiance, cramped departure lounge, walk to plane in all weather. Or and not forgetting the free pick up and drop off along with less choice of flights and declining passenger numbers eh, then lets see what everyone has to say?

"Well we gave it to you, but you don't want it"

 

[Aviador]

Credit where credit is due, absolutely, I don't think anybody is saying otherwise.

"LBAspotter", When was the last time you used the airport? I've worked at the airport a long time and I've yet to bump into you there. You are a healthy thirty something lad who is more than capable of walking the full distance of the walkway and trek to immigration. On the otherhand people like "wawkrk" use the airport almost weekly. It goes without saying that the opinions of someone like "wawkrk" are more relevant to the airport then that of a seasonal traveller such as yourself, not that your views aren't important.

Believe you me, I have witnessed people collapsing and gasping for breath more times than I care to remember climbing the steps at the end of the walkway. I believe it's one of the first places as you enter the terminal where there's a defibrillator. The last couple of hundred metres to immigration from air bridge 8 is a struggle for many without even talking into account the walk from the new walkway. Like I've already said, it's not a case of the airport "pissing into the wind" with the new walkway, it will be gratefully received by many people. What is needed is a little extra care for perhaps the other 10-15% of people who will genuinely struggle.

Does the airport or West Yorkshire Ambulance service release statistics for the number of people attended to at the airport? It would be interesting to see if the figure rises over the next twelve months.

 

[wawkrk]

I agree with Aviador that the most important point is the need for an escalator.I don't use the airport as much as I did in the past but still use it probably 30 times or more a year.I have seen many people standing gasping on the steps in real trouble.I saw two men a few weeks ago on their knees coughing their lungs up.
I think lbaspotters remarks are uncalled for and show a lack of understanding about other peoples lives. He is probably very fit and cannot understand others who are not so fortunate. He will be the same one day. Of course there are other airports with worse problems. One being Warsaw where even from an airbridge, you walk up a helter skelter about 4 floors then back down to the basement.
The really big airports in the world just have huge distance problems to immigration. I have probably used more than 200 airports and LBA arrivals is not one of my favourites and now becoming worse. Yes the walkway is an improvement, In the past I was often wet and knackered, now I am just knackered or even more so as the distance is increasing and the steps just put the boot in.

 

[Bigman]

Fair comment airforced. I was just trying to draw comparisons that we are not alone in our suffering. I didn't make that very clear though. It is a long time since I have walked into arrivals and used those stairs. I have been lucky in getting a bus ride to the bottom of the escalator the last few times I have flown. If my memory serves me well (probably not!!) aren't the steps wide enough to accommodate an escalator?

 

[White Heather]

I am happy to raise this issue at the next consultative meeting as requested by LBIA, although I already know the answer will be one of funding, priorities, and the availability of booked wheelchairs and assistance etc for people with difficulties. Perhaps some of the people who have struggled could, or should, have booked assistance, although many will not realise what awaits them until they are here and then its too late. However, from my experience LBA is no worse than most other airports and the walking distances are actually quite short in comparison to most I have been through.

I have no doubt however that this is an issue the airport are well aware of and will intend to deal with, particularly in view of the regulations relating to ease of access. Under those they are obliged to have methods in place to assist all people with disability, but they have in the past, and will again, argue that they can't resolve a problem if the passengers don't give them the option by booking assistance in advance. However, these steps are part of the arrivals process whilst the works carried out in the past 12 months are almost entirely connected with departures. At some point, the entire arrivals experience is going to have to be sorted as there clearly is insufficient space now, let alone next summer, but I suspect that the solution will require building alterations requiring planning consent.

The walkway was added on to the original plans at the last minute and whilst it is not perfect, LBA did listen and did include it where previously they had discounted it at this time. I suspect the comments re wind dispersal are very much behind the fact it does not go to the floor or roof, as on very windy days the omission of such gaps could cause structural damage and possible injury to those walking inside. As LUFC Pete will tell us, your average bus shelter often has gaps top and bottom for the same reason. These walkways are not constructed to the same tolerances as buildings so will have less ability to stand up to gale force winds hitting them sideways, as will certainly occur regularly at LBA. As somone who has worked with the construction industry I would suggest that what is there is because calculations undertaken by Structural Engineers have said that it is necessary.

I will of course post any response from LBA after the next meeting in December and I will send a formal enquiry letter up front to ensure its included on the agenda.

 

[airforced]

I am happy to raise this issue at the next consultative meeting as requested by LBIA, although I already know the answer will be one of funding, priorities, and the availability of booked wheelchairs and assistance etc for people with difficulties. Perhaps some of the people who have struggled could, or should, have booked assistance, although many will not realise what awaits them until they are here and then its too late. However, from my experience LBA is no worse than most other airports and the walking distances are actually quite short in comparison to most I have been through.

White Heather you are right in everything you say (not just the quote pasted above). I'm also quite sure that the "suits" at LBA are fully aware that many passengers arriving for the first time won't have a clue as to what they are about to face in terms of the length of walk and the up and down nature of that walk. Old hands know exactly what they are up against and whilst you rightly point out that they should possibly be asking for assistance they probably are too proud to do so or feel that they would be talked about, disparagingly, behind their backs whilst waiting in the usually seemingly never ending line before passport control.

I don't think people actually mind walking a few hundred yards on the flat, particularly after being unable to stretch their legs for up to 4 hours or so, but the killer at the end of it is the stairs. Escalators (working ones of course) would I feel sure wipe out any criticism in one fell swoop.

I haven't used the walkway yet (bus both times recently) but for anyone moaning about it please desist and think what it was like before on a wet and windy day! The next moan will be about the lack of a moving walkway in the "bus shelter". Don't go there please.