Heathrow delays

[WesLangdon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17913781

 

[Whitey]

I work at Heathrow and avoid walking through these areas - they are unacceptable at times.

 

[Benzmanc]

Thank god we're using gatwick this year

 

[Dryce]

Thank god we're using gatwick this year

IMO the queues have been getting worse at other ports of entry as well over the last five years.

LHR has been bad for years.

I wonder how much of the current additional problems at LHR are down to the assumption several years ago that they could use technology to deal with the increased passenger flow.

 

[Whitey]

^ father in law spent over 45mins (UK citizen) come back through last week !

 

[markjay]

Automatic gates with Biometrics.... and not the IRIS system. There are better solutions applied in airports around the world.

 

[WesLangdon]

The IRIS system is very slow; I was in a queue for one the weekend before last and gave up as the queue for the human version was moving far more rapidly. The Government have justified the delay on security grounds but it appears to be an untruth as its really due to staff cuts.

 

[stevieb15]

Thank god we're using gatwick this year

Took an hour and a quarter to clear passport control at 11pm last Friday at Gatwick south terminal.
EU and UK chaos, the rest no queues no problems.
And what a miserable po faced bunch the officials are, not surprising really given the queues and the managers wandering around with clipboards( I thought they were a thing of the past) noting the amount of people waiting!
What an advert for our country!

 

[stevieb15]

The IRIS system is very slow; I was in a queue for one the weekend before last and gave up as the queue for the human version was moving far more rapidly. The Government have justified the delay on security grounds but it appears to be an untruth as its really due to staff cuts.

Not really, picking up on my other post, two people were sat in the non EU/UK section at Gatwick processing no one, when incomers could have been re routed to them.
Seemed like people proving a point to me.
Let's be objective they're glorified council workers with more power to inconvenience!

 

[finisterre]

they do seem to suck a lot of lemons.

Why do I have to be greeted by a miserable git who has no manners and no people skills whenever I arrive? How much does a 'Welcome to Britain Sir' hurt?

It isn't as if airport taxes couldn't cover the direct cost of a smile.

They seem to have sacked the wrong ones.

 

[Sp!ke]

I spent 3.5 hours getting through passport control in San Francisco in February, So its not just us that have a problem.

The difference seems to be that in the UK, the non EU passport holders have a shorter queue than those with.

The US fast track their own and save the queues for the non US passport holders.

I think the US has the beter idea.

 

[artyman]

Where t=time, if you have x number of passengers that need processing you need y staff to deal with them, reduce to y*.75 or less and t increases. It ain't rocket science but then Gov doesn't seem to be overly endowed in the common sense department.

 

[Dryce]

Where t=time, if you have x number of passengers that need processing you need y staff to deal with them, reduce to y*.75 or less and t increases. It ain't rocket science but then Gov doesn't seem to be overly endowed in the common sense department.

To be fair it's a bit more complicated because the 'x' varies both seasonally and therough the day. Moreover the makeup of that 'x' changes too - with some more complicated to process than others.

But IMO the attitude of the Border Agency / IND has sucked for decades. Some bad practices at times, backed by sloppy IT and processes, and poorly thought government strategic policies.

We reap what we sow.

 

[markjay]

As we can't discriminate against other EU member states, I don't see how a UK-citizens-only queue can be possible in the UK?

 

[markjay]

But at any rate... not sure what all the fuss I'd about, it's just a slow government service, I don't really mind it as much as I mind the queue at the post office - if they could sort out this one I would be grateful - in fact it would be better is they just brought it back as they closed down too many post offices...

 

[Piff]

Last time we went to france was via the tunnel. (Feb 11)
On our return journey we allowed what we thought was sufficient time to check in (30 mins recommended - we allowed 50 mins)
Joined the queue and as usual picked the wrong lane.
It seemed that they took in every passport, scanned it, had a chat, had a tea break, then another chat before allowing each car through.
The guy with the sniffing device for explosives even checked us twice as we had waited for so long!
We missed our train as did many others.

 

[mightymouse]

The worst is they fired a whole bunch of border staff before the Olympics, most likely going on dough for some only now they have to fly ppl from Manchester to LHR to help with the mess. Ridiculous!

 

[Igurisu]

But at any rate... not sure what all the fuss I'd about, it's just a slow government service, I don't really mind it as much as I mind the queue at the post office - if they could sort out this one I would be grateful - in fact it would be better is they just brought it back as they closed down too many post offices...

I guess it depends on how much you use a particular service. Personally I use the Post Office maybe once a month at most so queues there don't bother me (although my local PO is very good). I fly almost every week, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. Nothing worse than arriving back in the UK at 23:00 or so then having to wait in a queue for an hour before the 1 hour drive home from the airport.

Seeing as my usual airport is Manchester its going to be interesting to see next week how the transfer of staff to Heathrow effects the service there.

 

[Rory]

The worst is they fired a whole bunch of border staff before the Olympics, most likely going on dough for some only now they have to fly ppl from Manchester to LHR to help with the mess. Ridiculous!

Most people want all public servants to be sacked though, and the Government is some way ahead of even its own plans for cutting them.

My wife recently jumped as the Department she worked in was already at the stage where it could barely function yet they wanted to lose 25% of staff. They so loved working there that lmost half the Departments entire staff across the UK threw their hats into the ring. In the end they let approx 33% go.

I don't want to go into details but their task, although legally required, always seemed slightly pointless to me and they have basically just stopped doing large parts of it.

 

[finisterre]

would that be connexions?

I know a lot of kids have no adult available to advise on anything to do with the world of work but still...