 Poster: A snowHead
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So much for BAA's website suggesting operations were back to normal. Checkin was fine but then you are directed back outside to wait until called to go through security. So if you check in 2.5 hours before a BA flight (as advised) you might have an hour standing around in the rain outside post checkin waiting to even get to security.
Security then takes around 45 minutes to clear - actually, that was me getting into the Fast Track queue with my Tufty Club card. Pity the poor people in the ordinary lines.
BAA: What a bunch of muppets. The real probem is that they won't spend enough money to properly staff and tool up.
A stupid response to a non-existent threat. Non-existent in that the alleged "plot" could almost certainly not be carried out as described using TATP. For once Michael O'Leary is right. Why should I be more of a threat with my standard, previously acceptable carry on than I am with my little laptop bag?
GRRRRRRR!!
Has anyone read Orwell's 1984 recently?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Murdoch, Gatwick isn't as bad as that. Was that for a domestic (i.e. UK/Euro) flight, or international?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Wear The Fox Hat, Heathrow-Zurich. I flew out of Gatwick with my little poly bag the day it all kicked off and it was fine. Couldn't get a Gatwick flight cheap enough this time (oddly).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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David Murdoch, I fly out of Gatwick to work, and it was easier leaving Gatwick on Monday than it had been leaving Strasbourg on Friday. I'm off to Belgium for a couple of weeks in September, and that will involve flying from LHR. Hope everything has eased by then, and all the punters have decided to go back to work instead of on holiday.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wear The Fox Hat, I've been commuting through Gatwick all summer and it's generally been great. LHR is such a painful experience!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Murdoch, I'm now looking at the possibility of taking the train...
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Oh no!!! This is not good - I've got a flight out of Heathrow in a couple of weeks. I was hoping everything might have calmed down a bit by then  Better take a good book
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David Murdoch, My Parents live nextdoor to Orwell's adopted son, but no i haven't read 1984 recently. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Has anyone read Orwell's 1984 recently? |
I thought since Tony passed the Farenheit 451 act that we weren't allowed to read factually accurate accounts of how he works.
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Strange , a friend travelled from Newcastle to Geneva on Aug 12th or 13th, and was only delayed by 10 minutes. meanwhile the guests travelling to our apartment from Luton had to cancel until the Monday. Not operated by BAA, and I hope it never is!!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I travelled SOU->MAN return last weekend and there were no problems at either airport.
Must be a London Thing 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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im going to dublin tomorrow .. i will arrive at stanstead 2 hours beofre lift off with a 5 kg bit of luggage and a book.. if they cant get me and my frds on that flight then i will turn around and head home.. i mean its a wee wee up in dublin, thats hardly important compared to sking is it!!
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stephen bleakley, no time to chat but yes, it is a BAA London (LHR) thing. Soph went from City on Sunday with nary a problem.
BAA=stupid pathetic short term muppets.
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You know it makes sense.
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I only hope that they are a bit more relaxed come January. I can see sleazyjet cancelling flights at this rate (better be prepared for another long drive). 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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My wife came back into Newcastle from Denmark on the day after the 'event', no delays at all.
All the problems seem to be at Heathrow and Gatwick and with internal flights from there. Hopefully things will be sorted out by the winter.
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Poster: A snowHead
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halfhand, don't forget, airports do tend to be quieter in the winter.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Murdoch,
you should have seen the looks on the faces of those who were transiting in Heathrow... get off 20+ hour flight Melbourne-HongKong-Heathrow.... then get told they have too large a piece of cabin baggage and may be a bomber going to get the approx 1 hour connecting flight they have to catch....
I can see a lot of these people starting to look for amsterdam/frankfurt flights in future.... stupidly long queues... and they seemed to be taking peoples word for it they had no liquids(just from what I saw had got through).... don't admit to carrying nasal sprays though unless they are PRESCRIPTION nasal sprays... you will have to get the airport pharmacist to ID the nonprescription ones and they will probably still take them away...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Peter S wrote: |
| All the problems seem to be at Heathrow and Gatwick and with internal flights from there. Hopefully things will be sorted out by the winter. |
Gatwick (North) seems to be fine. A bit slower than usual, but nothing major. (first hand experience)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I will let you all know what it is like after this evening. I have NO luggage or handbaggage whatsover, have checked in on-line and have printed my boarding pass. Still, am expecting a delay! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Mouth, LGW? LHR? Or elsewhere?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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little tiger, hubby suffers from terrible ear pain on the plane, and always carries a nasal spray with him to use. I suppose we're fortunate, we can stick a dispensing label in it.
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I do have a degree of sympathy for LHR, they're just about running at full capacity and the government goes and drops these silly rules on them, what hope have they got of dealing with them without inconveniencing everyone along the way.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Wear The Fox Hat, LHR T4
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Mouth, good luck!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Eeek, were off to Singapore next week from LHR T4 with BA. Loads of long haul flights to the Far East go off in the evening so it should be fun and games! I heard on the news this morning that they're actually advising people not to get there too early (more than 3 hrs B4 departure) as it clogs up the airport.
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You know it makes sense.
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FenlandSkier, I have none. the problem is that BAA's interests are not aligned with passengers' or airlines'. Ergo underinvestment, under staffing, poor management.
Comment from one poor BAA staffer when I asked why I couldn't go through to my lounge - even though I had arrived less than 2.5 hours early as instructed? "Oh, I don't know, they don't tell us anything...maybe you could just ask nicely" (Which I did).
At security the "Fast Track" line although better than "standard" too 45 minutes as there were two queues for one scanner and only one each male and female frisker. The frisking was causing the problem. Easy solution, use both scanners and have 2 or 4 or 6 or 10 friskers for each. But that would cost money...! Muppets!
(NB a "frisker" is not to be confused with a "fluffer") Now, there's a question - who gets to search the pre-op transexuals? "No really, I'm a laydee!" and in those cases, does makeup become a prescription item?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Now, there's a question - who gets to search the pre-op transexuals? |
I can answer that one, the gender of the frisker should be up to the friskee, if practical, so whatever they feel comfortable with.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Kramer wrote: |
| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Now, there's a question - who gets to search the pre-op transexuals? |
I can answer that one, the gender of the frisker should be up to the friskee, if practical, so whatever they feel comfortable with. |
Must be a bit strange for the frisker, not really knowing what "bits" they are going to find.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Going back to the delays, my other half went from LHR to Munich on Sunday with BA. Online check-in, laptop handluggage, fast bag drop and through security with no problems at all. Maybe it varies between terminals. He was certainly a tad hacked off to be spending two hours kicking about at the gate when he could have stayed at home longer, but better that that queuing for hours or being late.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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DB, is that a bomb in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Now, there's a question - who gets to search the pre-op transexuals? "No really, I'm a laydee!" and in those cases, does makeup become a prescription item? |
when my sister was a cop on city duty she searched the girl bits and the guys searched the boy bits.... that way no-one could accuse anyone of misconduct of any sort....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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DB,
| Quote: |
Must be a bit strange for the frisker, not really knowing what "bits" they are going to find.
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The answer to that is -NONE - 99% of airport security 'frisks' are rubbish. Next time you see one done watch closely to see the parts of the body the 'frisker' runs their hands over. notice also if they check the coller, long hair, palms down hands open fingers spread, back and front of person, mouth open.
Even if they do a good rub down search (Frisk) there are still a good many 'hiding places' that only a strip search reveals ! and even strip searching alows hiding in places that only a full cavity search could find.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| little tiger, hubby suffers from terrible ear pain on the plane, and always carries a nasal spray with him to use. I suppose we're fortunate, we can stick a dispensing label in it. |
I have similar problem.... but unfortunately when I left there was no problem so I had not labelled it... and you cannot buy the stuff I use on this side of the world...
Also the wording on their website is inaccurate compared to what they are enforcing... they state "prescribed" not "prescription only" medicines on teh web site - but are only allowing prescription medicines through...
"you need it identified by a pharmacist"
"I am a pharmacist" (check all teh workpermit guff that is still in my passport you are holding)
"oh - well you still need it ID'd"
I asked them if they would then want to remove my generic ventolin inhaler from me - which is Pharmacist Supply and hence NOT prescription and not labelled.... "Oh we would not be THAT stupid" (but my nasal spray had all of 25% of a 30ml bottle remaining and my asthma is very stable but the ear thing is a real problem especially when I am spending nearly 30 hours travelling in planes)...
What I find most amusing is that this is the same airport that looked confused when I removed my laptop from its backpack for scanning only twelve months ago... (standard procedure at home so i just grabbed it out)
and as i said - I saw all sorts of stuff in bags on the other side of that screening area.... cosmetics, lip gloss etc etc etc... but the poor little asian lady with her coat and jumper in a paper bag to carry them was being carted off to check them into the hold.... (ffs tell her to carry them without the damn bag or put them on for 10 minutes if it is an issue)
I had to treat one kid on the plane who had a reaction to plane/airport soap... and then was given hand cream by the flight staff that aggravated the problem.... (luckily I have the same issue and so had some cortisone cream- again luckily due to asthma I reach the money limit here and so this was dispensed and labelled not OTC ) When i asked - yes her mum usually takes OWN soap and hand cream for her - but cannot due to the restrictions...
If they want to remove this stuff from people they need to ensure that all planes and airport areas have HYPOALLERGENIC soap... no more perfumed stuff....
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| Odin wrote: |
DB,
| Quote: |
Must be a bit strange for the frisker, not really knowing what "bits" they are going to find.
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The answer to that is -NONE - 99% of airport security 'frisks' are rubbish. Next time you see one done watch closely to see the parts of the body the 'frisker' runs their hands over. notice also if they check the coller, long hair, palms down hands open fingers spread, back and front of person, mouth open.
Even if they do a good rub down search (Frisk) there are still a good many 'hiding places' that only a strip search reveals ! and even strip searching alows hiding in places that only a full cavity search could find. |
i thought that but did not want to entice them to start cavity searching.... it was taking way too long to do the other stuff...
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little tiger, Cavity search requires a Doctor or other medical professional to administer. Best you could reasonably hope for would be strip, knickers off and squat !
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Mrs Axs and I just flew back (Thursday 24th) from Nice into Luton with Easyjet. We flew out last Friday. Now on the way out the restrictions had been relaxed a bit and we were allowed to carry hand luggage (45 X 35 X 15 cm) including mobile phones, electrical items and my laptop. So far so good. Apart from an (non security related) 3 hour delay the flight was uneventful.
Coming back however, we were told as we checked in our bags that hand luggage was NOT allowed. we had to put my laptop, mobile phone car keys and even a key fob micro led torch into our check in bags. This did cause us some worries as the car keys would have been a bit of a problem if lost (I don't actually live at Luton Airport). Mrs Axs worried about her jewelry, which she only took with her when we checked and found that hand luggage was allowed again.
In the event nothing was lost nothing was damaged and the flight home went without hitch.
My only gripe is that EasyJet failed to mention in their their pre-flight instructions that flights OUT would allow hand luggage but flights IN would not. I think this is fairly significant to the hapless traveller.
Similarly the Luton Airport website carries this message:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
IMPORTANT PASSENGER INFORMATION
Flights are currently arriving at and departing from London Luton Airport. Delays are minimal. Passengers are advised to visit their airline website for further information.
Security procedures currently restrict hand luggage allowed through security search at the airport. Each passenger is permitted to carry one item of cabin baggage through the airport security search point, size is restricted to 45cm x 35cm and a depth of 16cm (roughly the size of a standard sized carrier bag). Electrical items are now allowed in hand luggage including mobile phones, laptops and digital cameras.
No liquids or products made from constituted liquids may be carried in hand luggage other than prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (for example diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic. Please bring the medical prescription with you. For those travelling with infants, baby food and milk sufficient and essential for the flight is allowed and must be tasted by the accompanying passenger.
The definition of liquids includes gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures and the contents of pressurised containers e.g. toothpaste, hair gel, drinks, soups, syrups, perfume, deodorant, shaving foam, aerosols, make-up, lip-stick and lip balm - these items will not be permitted through security search.
PLEASE NOTE - ONCE PASSENGERS HAVE PASSED THROUGH SECURITY INTO THE DEPARTURE LOUNGE, THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS ON SHOPPING, OR FOOD AND DRINK PURCHASES. ANY ITEMS BOUGHT IN THE AIRSIDE DEPARTURE LOUNGE WILL BE PERMITTED INSIDE THE AIRCRAFT CABIN.
Passengers are advised to arrive at the airport in good time for their flight, approx 2hrs prior to flight departure.
London Luton Airport 'drop off zone' is currently closed, pick up and drop off is in the short stay car park.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Which is also very helpful but fails to warn that coming back hand luggage will not be permitted.
Now call me daft, but I would have thought that if hand-baggage is OK flying from Luton to Nice, then there's not much point banning it on the way back. I mean your average Alqueda member could always pop over through the tunnel with his explosive laptop and fly back out again if he felt the need?
Anyone else find this a little difficult to understand 
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The BAA have shown themselves up in the worst light during this. Frankly the management there have shown themselves as a bunch of TOTAL INCOMPETENTS. I still have to fly through London gateways to Europe including Day 1 of this (yesterday being the most recent. BTW) -
an additional hour to get through security ( hand baggage - ie a mobile phone, passport and wallet ) only
Whatever your views on the 'level of threat' or the governments response - it takes the BAA to really screw up.
1) Their total unprepared-ness for contingency security measures
2) The lack of staffing _ and inability to staff up as a result of the increased requirement
3) The continued lack of decent process around security channels - a 18YO could put easy impovements in tomorrow - info notices, channels, etc.....................
4) The CEOs ludicrous public utterances ( staff are wonderful, not our fault etc.) - he obviously was not in touch with real staff on the ground
5) The abject greed - alllowing lighters/electrical goods/perfumes etc STILL to be sold airside having 'prevented' them being taken into the same area 30 secs earlier ( notwithstanding the obvious potential for security lapses and additional security effort required as a result of that commercial policy)
And we in the UK complain about US/Europan bureaucratic cock-ups ! You'd have to laugh if you could ..;
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FAQ
