Heathrow, Flight Connections and Security

Traveller wrote:
> I'm travelling through LHR this Friday (why? don't ask) and will be
> arriving T1 on a UK domestic flight, departing T1 on an international
> flight. I've got a through ticket and will remain airside, going via
> the Flight Connections Centre.
>
> Once upon a time, before the madness, passengers doing this didn't have
> to clear security again at LHR as the security from the UK originating
> airport was deemed sufficient. It's been quite some time since I've
> done a trip like this - so is this still the case, or will I have to get
> screened again?
>
> TIA
>
> T

Last November I had o do something similar (but in reverse order) -
arriving from Barcelona and on to Cork. We had through tickets and had
to go through security which was located just in front of the Flight
Connections area.

In message <1hxyo5y.1bn7gcv1omcypoN%d4g4hd.uk>, at 18:20:36 on
Fri, 11 May 2007, "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)"
<d4g4hd.uk> remarked:
>I was at Schiphol once where it was taking up to three hours just to get
>a new flight, because of fog delays. We arrived a few minutes late for
>our connecting flight to MAN, and missed _two_ further flights while
>waiting for assistance. It was pandemonium, and half of the customer
>service desks were empty, while lots of KLM staff 'seemed' to be just
>wandering around. It was bad enough for us- several people in the line
>were going to miss their _next_ (and last) connecting flight to the US!

The KLM transfer desks are inside some sort of time-statis field. I was
at the main one on the "D" Gates this new year and between three agents
(all the other desks were unmanned) they managed to process less than
one person every ten minutes! In the half an hour I stood there I got to
the front of the queue, but only because all but two of the several
dozen people originally in front of me gave up and went away...
--
Roland Perry

David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) wrote:
> Stephen Farrow <stephen.farrow@> wrote:
>
>> David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) wrote:
>>> Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> In message <464228b9.1192265@news.>, at 20:02:27 on Wed, 9
>>>> May 2007, Neil Williams <wensleydale@pacersplace.org.uk> remarked:
>>>>>>> Perhaops he doesn't like standing in silly queues.
>>>>>> Then his best strategy is avoiding all airports.
>>>>> I point, as ever, to LCY and Schiphol, though my experience on Tuesday
>>>>> at LHR was not bad at all.
>>>> Well, the queue I saw at Heathrow confiscating duty free from transit
>>>> passengers wasn't especially long. And a couple of weeks ago the early
>>>> evening queue for the "H" gates at Schiphol was all the way diagonally
>>>> across the adjacent concourse, and threatening to extend into the
>>>> covered way from the main terminal. I've also seen the queue for
>>>> passport control at Departures 3 extend all the way from the desk, past
>>>> all the checkin counters, to the escalators up from the ground floor.
>>>>
>>>> Yes, it's typically much better than other airports, but it is not
>>>> immune from an unpredictable bad hair day.
>>> I was at Schiphol once where it was taking up to three hours just to get
>>> a new flight, because of fog delays. We arrived a few minutes late for
>>> our connecting flight to MAN, and missed _two_ further flights while
>>> waiting for assistance. It was pandemonium, and half of the customer
>>> service desks were empty, while lots of KLM staff 'seemed' to be just
>>> wandering around. It was bad enough for us- several people in the line
>>> were going to miss their _next_ (and last) connecting flight to the US!
>>>
>> I'd assume that was a KLM thing rather than a Schiphol thing.
>
> That might be the case, but KLM is the airline most people are using if
> they're transiting there.
>

Sure, but how is the *airport* to blame for the *airline's* ineptitude?

--

Stephen

Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever.

In message <464eef17.323268312@news.>, at 12:36:20 on Sat,
19 May 2007, Neil Williams <wensleydale@pacersplace.org.uk> remarked:
>>Good point. I can't say I'd try it, but boy, it's tempting. That said, I
>>notice that when they've processed the non-EEA entries, they usually
>>open the line to everyone, feeding on the existing queue.
>
>Try it at BHX T2 and you'll be sent to the back of the EEA queue.
>Main reason for that is that it's the same desks - there's someone
>regulating the two queues and they usually hold on to the non-EEA
>people until most of the EEA ones have passed.

That doesn't make sense at all. So they send you back to the end of a
queue that's almost done anyway?

In any event, most UK airports share the desks for both queues, and
non-EAA people are effectively a "fast lane". The exception is perhaps
Heathrow.
--
Roland Perry

In message <464f30ae.340059359@news.>, at 17:17:01 on Sat,
19 May 2007, Neil Williams <wensleydale@pacersplace.org.uk> remarked:
>On Sat, 19 May 2007 15:12:33 +0100, Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>That doesn't make sense at all. So they send you back to the end of a
>>queue that's almost done anyway?
>
>Not quite. The situation below applies, but the non-EEA queue is not
>a shortcut - it's managed so those people are "served" last.

No it isn't. I was there last week and a South African (who was sat next
to me on the plane) was the only "non-EEA" passenger on the plane (as
far as I could see) and he went through that route and straight to the
RH desk. And I've seen the same process before.

> However the person managing the queue has a glance to ensure they
>have landing cards, and if "because I don't need one" is given as an
>excuse, to the back of the EEA queue they go.

But if they were really being served last, the other queue will be
empty!! So the redirection is null. (nb the man doing the checking
being, as I observe them, at the head of the queue, not the rear).

>>In any event, most UK airports share the desks for both queues, and
>>non-EAA people are effectively a "fast lane". The exception is perhaps
>>Heathrow.
>
>Schiphol, notably, has "EU passports" and "All passports". Holders of
>EU passports can use either.

USA has "Americans" and "All" I think. Are you sure that "others, not
including locals" is more common than "all"?
--
Roland Perry