-
Sounds like a pre fight cut off time may soon be necessary 😂
You will never prevent people turning up earlier and earlier if you have congestion. Even if you enforce “can’t join the queue until X” you’ll have a queue for the queue, with stressed miserable people waiting around getting in the way. It’s just not possible to stop people turning up ever earlier once they know there’s a problem, because this is the only rational response.
Just like the only rational response to scarcity of a vital commodity is to buy a decent supply of it as soon as you can.
(With the caveat that 8 out of 10 newspaper reports of scarcity are a sales tactic designed to induce additional buying of something there is in fact a glut of)Security aside, there is still a lack of capacity to get people upstairs at peak times. We have gone from having two separate ways up to 4 elevators which have a much lower capacity than the previous routes. We can only hope a reserve staircase will be bought into use.
@TooPoorToBeHere … you’re correct it’s the only rational response but it’s irrational. However, as soon as you hear you can’t get past the lift until a certain time before your flight it’ll filter through just like the hysteria about the queues.
@ChrisBCN time will tell but almost certain stairs will be accessible once the work is completely finished upstairs. I still think you’re wrong about how quickly people need to get upstairs considering only queues are awaiting them at peak times. At those times with no queues upstairs no one is mentioning trouble getting up … including the reporter with the Twitter thread.Having been there several times (unfortunately) recently I can confirm it has nothing to do with lifts etc.
Its simply that they dont have enough staff at security, no information on what you can and cant take and poor direction from others.
Its a basic airport management issue.
Sounds like a pre fight cut off time may soon be necessary 😂
😂😂😂
Any recent experiences here? Actively searching between BRS, BHX, and LHR (Avios option) for last minute sun bookings. In the past BHX would be the preference due to travel time… but if things are still similar, I’d sooner drive 3hrs to LHR!
Depends when you are going suspect next week is going to be terrible everywhere.
From what I’ve heard over last couple weeks no worse than any other airport at peak travel times. No longer popping up on the local newspapers either.
Pics of long queues at LGW north terminal yesterday!
I think time of departure is quite key also. At BHX anything from mid/late morning onwards should be OK.
Pleasantly surprised by this mornings experience at BHX. Time from stepping off the monorail to sitting in Clubrooms approx 10 mins. The combination of HBO, fast rack security and arriving from the railway station on the monorail means you can enter the security queue at departures level without having to funnel through the lifts. Staff will allow you through the tensa barrier if you show your fast track pass.
Normal security lines looked very busy but they were moving steadily, however I’ve got no idea what it looked like downstairs at check in or in the queue to get up in the lifts to departures level.
So they opened two staircases last weekend – and guess what? Queues caused by the elevators have now reduced, finally! Seems to have been mostly OK all week.
Not read the article but It’s been okay for weeks. Spoken to multiple people and they used the lift. The stairs are most useful for those having to check in for Jet2 flights.
Not read the article but It’s been okay for weeks.
It really hasn’t.
I know people who struggled in the past 3 weeks.So has LGW and LHR, schools are breaking up and it’s summer holidays season. There’s your standard normal security woes at peak times and then there’s extraordinary queues every single day (the issue BHX was having)
Last example was this Tuesday morning just gone arrived at 6:30am and through security within 10 mins no fast track.
Another two the week before 20-30 mins. Similar times 7-8am take offs, no fast track.
Going through BHX last summer was no picnic either, it’s not going to transform into something it isn’t ie LHR.
I’m sure this next week will be trouble because the local schools are breaking up and people are flying out all at the same time.
He would have meant right now because there was and probably is still no space upstairs (I assume until 3 days time) so they are crowd controlling downstairs instead. They can send up 200 people a min that’s more than 10 lanes can process in a min but there’s no way 200 a min could make it through the narrow corridor and speed gates as they were atleast a few weeks back.
If there was were uncontrolled escalators you would risk over crowding and a crush but I’d still say it’s all being handled very badly as there’s way to manage timely flow .. especially when you know your throughput at the scanners and every customer had a way of telling you when their flight is.
Then rightly says when it’s all finished and operational the max flow of the lifts is more than enough … I’m sure they have enough analytics on their own passenger numbers on average, low flow and peak days.
Despite your assertion that the lifts are fine, two sets of escalators have been re-opened to cope with the peak school holiday demand.
So they opened two staircases last weekend – and guess what? Queues caused by the elevators have now reduced, finally! Seems to have been mostly OK all week.
I see they are still blaming the change in the liquid rules for their woes that started long before the rule change.
The fact they have opened up staircases “to give options” shows they realised they goofed up and they are trying to save face.
@TGLoyalty the fact that you and some others didn’t have problems doesn’t mean that many more others haven’t had problems.He would have meant right now because there was and probably is still no space upstairs (I assume until 3 days time) so they are crowd controlling downstairs instead. They can send up 200 people a min that’s more than 10 lanes can process in a min but there’s no way 200 a min could make it through the narrow corridor and speed gates as they were atleast a few weeks back.
If there was were uncontrolled escalators you would risk over crowding and a crush but I’d still say it’s all being handled very badly as there’s way to manage timely flow .. especially when you know your throughput at the scanners and every customer had a way of telling you when their flight is.
Then rightly says when it’s all finished and operational the max flow of the lifts is more than enough … I’m sure they have enough analytics on their own passenger numbers on average, low flow and peak days.
Despite your assertion that the lifts are fine, two sets of escalators have been re-opened to cope with the peak school holiday demand.
Oops! Missed the fact that ChrisBCN had already posted this…..apologies.
I don’t think they ever said they won’t open stair cases they were very clear they won’t have escalators. Two very different things. And neither will stop the queuing upstairs in the security hall.
Let’s see at peak times if the stairs are just left open or closed to manage the queues or if they’ve opened up the space upstairs you’re just queuing at tensa barriers at a different place.
I never once said no one had problems I said that they were due to high traffic through security at peak times, always a BHX problem, and no/low space upstairs due to the construction work.
I don’t think they ever said they won’t open stair cases they were very clear they won’t have escalators. Two very different things. And neither will stop the queuing upstairs in the security hall.
Let’s see at peak times if the stairs are just left open or closed to manage the queues or if they’ve opened up the space upstairs you’re just queuing at tensa barriers at a different place.
I never once said no one had problems I said that they were due to high traffic through security at peak times, always a BHX problem, and no/low space upstairs due to the construction work.
My bet is stairs get closed at peak times on health and safety grounds – to avoid people queueing on the stairs. That’s what Schipol does – at peak times they hold people at the bottom till there is space in the security queue upstairs then send a batch of people up, limited to avoid anyone having to queue on the stairs
The main problem with BHX (in general UK airports) is spending money but not to resolve the core problems or make it better. The core issue is/was lack of space in security, lack of conveyor belts in arrival hall, lack of sitting area and so on, instead of fixing it they built/opened more airport shops and made the existing problem worse. Nothing to solve the problem of common man, all for the greedy. They want to make the problem worse to create a new revenue stream of fast track. Its all joke.
It was pretty bad this morning at 7am. They had staff pro-actively going up and down the queues to try and ensure anyone departing within an hour or so got brought towards the front of the queue
I was truly dreading my 6am flight today with young grandchildren. Got dropped at the train station at 3am only to find that the Maglev does not operate until 3.30😩 Taxi returned and dropped us at the terminal. No queue for the lifts at all ! We had checked in bags the night before and had fast track and sailed through in around 10 minutes.
Turns out I was dreading the wrong part of the journey. Arrived in Reus only to queue for 1 hour 50 minutes for immigration, most of which was outside in the heat. 8 UK flights had arrived within a 15 minute period and only 3 immigration posts were operating .Flying out next Monday (12/8) with Emirates at 9:40pm. Any reason to be concerned or will it have settled down by this time? Will to aim arrive 6:30pm – Have bags to check and kids to feed.
(Flew from BHX last year at midday, had fast track and never felt so good walking past everyone 😎)
Flying out next Monday (12/8) with Emirates at 9:40pm. Any reason to be concerned or will it have settled down by this time? Will to aim arrive 6:30pm – Have bags to check and kids to feed.
(Flew from BHX last year at midday, had fast track and never felt so good walking past everyone 😎)
You’ll be absolutely fine.
You know it’s bad when there is a chaplain helping with people in the queue…
Just been through now as an arrival, and departure queues for the lifts are still manic, queueing all around the ground floor. Also means that the queue for the train station link is also impossible. No stairs available according to the staff. I ended up walking to the train station – it really is time to fire everybody involved for the way this was designed.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
