Airport Security, Immigration & Border Control

[jason1-11]

I’m due to fly to LHR early next month and in July and can 100% guarantee that I won’t be turning up 3 hours before for a 40 minute flight. If the problems persist @ LBA, I’ll be shifting my business back to the train.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

Q
Ridiculous you have to turn up 3 hours before for a 1 hour flight. Especially poor for a business oriented airline like Flybe and KLM.

Its going to impact on Flybe bookings.

 

[Seasider]

Am I right in assuming that it is the early morning rush that create the queues?

 

[airforced]

Am I right in assuming that it is the early morning rush that create the queues?

Early morning departures and security have always been a pig at LBA never mind whatever extra problems have been caused by COVID. I have mostly been an early morning Jet2 customer and have been used to the snails pace through security over the years and have got used to it and expect it. It is the same once you are through there. Finding a seat has also always been a problem prior to being called to the gate.

That is why I had high hopes for the new terminal, hoping that things would improve once it was in operation. No chance of that now unfortunately. Haven't traveled since COVID and have no intention of doing so until it is all over. The airport ought to be looking after their reputation better and ensuring, by whatever means, that we don't see queues out of the door and people missing flights due to bottlenecks in security. Just a personal view I hasten to add, ever though it is probably not as easy as that.

By the way, on the odd occasion I have used Manchester for an early morning flight it has been HORRENDOUS over there so I can imagine the problems they are having currently. Give me LBA anytime.

 

[LBA4EVER]

Looking to book flights to ALC for the end of may for my parents as they have buisness to attend to out there, so will for sure be booking them onto the afternoon flight to avoid the morning hell!

 

[mdobuk21]

I’m on the last Saturday night departure to Alicante 30th July so should miss all the chaos

 

[LBA4EVER]

I’m on the last Saturday night departure to Alicante 30th July so should miss all the chaos

The only issue with the last flight of the day is that it might be delayed due to the chaos earlier in the day.

 

[Aviador]

I would think it will be all sorted before the school summer holidays. Probably much sooner than that to be honest.

I’m on the last Saturday night departure to Alicante 30th July so should miss all the chaos

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

I think the reason there are more delays in a morning then there are in a afternoon is due to the departure's that are far closer together in a morning versus a spread out afternoon.

Look at tomorrow:

14 7:05am and before
5 until 09:00

Afternoon:

3 between 1pm/2pm
3 between 2pm/3pm
5 between 3pm/4pm
7 between 4pm/5pm
8 between 5pm and 8pm

The departures are more spread out and therefore more people are likely to turn up earlier in the afternoon still in plenty of time for their flights. Majority of those flights are with Jet2 so I have no doubt that check in will be open earlier then usual to account for this.

Over the morning where more people descend onto the airport all at the same time all to departure more or less within an hour or two of each other. Security also doesn't open till 3am, unlike the day where it's open and is up and running. Shift times stagger in the morning also.

Way to address this? More people on a night shift to compensate for the fact the airport/airlines are encouraging people to turn up early the 10% of passengers on every flight (189 is our largest aircraft) turn up. Thats 18 people or 14 departures x 18 people nearly 252 people turning up 2am to account for security delays. Rather then facing that straight away if you have one lane open it's a slow but steady stream from 2am.

EDIT - That would require Shops etc/Duty free (due to the way passengers go through to departure lounge) to be open @2am. Unless they work with said people to have night shifts. 10p-5am?

 

[paully]

Leeds Bradford Airport: Nearly 400 travellers miss flights due to delays

Leeds Bradford Airport's boss says people arriving too early for flights has made the problem worse.

www.bbc.co.uk

This is the latest and interview with Hodder...They don`t expect things to be back to normal before the end of June!!..The difference between Furlough and Redundancy I guess

 

[airforced]

I didn't see Look North this evening so can't really comment on what Hodder said or didn't say except that LBA will have had the airlines departures for quite some time and that they should therefore have been fully aware of the likely problems that were about to happen and done a bit more to tackle those problems before they happened.

 

[White Heather]

Like what?

They have been recruiting for months! They can't force the right people to apply for jobs. Nor can they circumvent the Government's demands to speed up the approvals and training process. Or control sickness absences which an shut down security lanes. They couldn't do any of this until the Government removed the shackles from the aviation sector which came very late.

Applying your argument then exactly the same applies at many other airports who are experiencing the same issues, including Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

I believe Liverpool is managing ok. I wonder what they did differently.

 

[jason1-11]

Came across this on Twitter via a Ryanair pilot:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1525332568207511552

 

[paully]

I believe Liverpool is managing ok. I wonder what they did differently.

Funny you should mention this..Later this month we had EZY flights from Manc to Gibraltar..We have switched them outbound to Liverpool/Malaga instead. Presently LPL are saying their queues are 15/20 mins tops..Have fastrack open for £4 and asking people to turn up as they normally would have..

 

[arry]

Like what?

They have been recruiting for months! They can't force the right people to apply for jobs. Nor can they circumvent the Government's demands to speed up the approvals and training process. Or control sickness absences which an shut down security lanes. They couldn't do any of this until the Government removed the shackles from the aviation sector which came very late.

Applying your argument then exactly the same applies at many other airports who are experiencing the same issues, including Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol.

you ask “Like What?” and I agree it’s very difficult with an “industry wide problem” but as a very regular user there are some little tweaks that will help. Sadly, through media exposure, this has now become like the recent supermarket and petrol shortages. People are panicking and who can blame them when they stand to be several hundreds of pounds out of pocket and loose their holidays. Accepting the only people to do physical checks are those trained and vetted to do so I would reconfigure the security hall with more counters and trays before the scanners, use other airport staff from management and admin roles, on overtime, to work proactively with passengers to absolutely ensure what they present for scanning is correct which, from my observations, would significantly reduce the manual searching and double scanning. Others could work the queues keeping passengers informed. Whether we like it or not this requires action and not just words.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

you ask “Like What?” and I agree it’s very difficult with an “industry wide problem” but as a very regular user there are some little tweaks that will help. Sadly, through media exposure, this has now become like the recent supermarket and petrol shortages. People are panicking and who can blame them when they stand to be several hundreds of pounds out of pocket and loose their holidays. Accepting the only people to do physical checks are those trained and vetted to do so I would reconfigure the security hall with more counters and trays before the scanners, use other airport staff from management and admin roles, on overtime, to work proactively with passengers to absolutely ensure what they present for scanning is correct which, from my observations, would significantly reduce the manual searching and double scanning. Others could work the queues keeping passengers informed. Whether we like it or not this requires action and not just words.

All very good points. The more preparation that can be done 'landside' the better.

 

[airforced]

They have been aware of the potential problems for some time but, if the queues outside the terminal are anything to go by, they haven't thought it necessary to try, at least partially, to ease matters with whatever resources they have. It is called Management which LBA don't appear to be very good at I'm afraid.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

you ask “Like What?” and I agree it’s very difficult with an “industry wide problem” but as a very regular user there are some little tweaks that will help. Sadly, through media exposure, this has now become like the recent supermarket and petrol shortages. People are panicking and who can blame them when they stand to be several hundreds of pounds out of pocket and loose their holidays. Accepting the only people to do physical checks are those trained and vetted to do so I would reconfigure the security hall with more counters and trays before the scanners, use other airport staff from management and admin roles, on overtime, to work proactively with passengers to absolutely ensure what they present for scanning is correct which, from my observations, would significantly reduce the manual searching and double scanning. Others could work the queues keeping passengers informed. Whether we like it or not this requires action and not just words.

You can only offer so much overtime. And people may not want to take it. So in reality offering that is pointless. Oh and they'll also have to be trained and go under the training to be a security officer. I don't see the point.

Like what?

They have been recruiting for months! They can't force the right people to apply for jobs. Nor can they circumvent the Government's demands to speed up the approvals and training process. Or control sickness absences which an shut down security lanes. They couldn't do any of this until the Government removed the shackles from the aviation sector which came very late.

Applying your argument then exactly the same applies at many other airports who are experiencing the same issues, including Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol.

The sector that was banging on and on and on at the DFT and Grant Shapps door only to be ignored, passed off, and shafted. It's unbelievable the press going for airports about this. They really should be slating Shapps for his useless rainbow traffic light system and Rishi for his narcissistic approach when it came to packages of support. But alas the press are not that intelligent.






I think everyone also needs to remember security is not just at the channel we, as passengers pass through. The security team are responsible for the whole airfield and ensuring it's secure and doing checks repeatedly. They are responsible for allowing staff onto the airfield which includes the crews for all flights, fullers, all your ground staff to board flights etc. That is through a separate channel which needs manning 24/7. And finally any vehicle which leaves airside and then wants to come back through OR any vehicle entering the airfield zone needs a thorough check before been let onto the airfield. This means all your catering trucks for everyone to enjoy a cuppa or buy bottle of gin on board, any vehicles belonging to ground handlers, and fullers delivering fuel to the airport. Both these channels (Staff and Vehicle) at LBA are manned from the same building.

There is also security staff which are needed to process airside passes and therefore give them out to staff which are desperately needed in security and by airlines for crew etc. Security at an airport is a big job and not just what we see. And the press won't educate the public as that doesn't sell.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

My point was proven this morning. Security closed but already a big queue building (suspect all Jet2 customers using twilight check in) at around 02:45. Security doesn’t open till 03:00. If a night shift had been on and opened that at 02:30 the queue would be clear. What’s the point of opening to a backlog already.