Manchester: Airport Security, Immigration & Border Control

[Aviador]

Manchester Airport passengers angry over hour long passport control queues in ‘baking hot corridors’
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...hester-airport-passengers-angry-over-14511016

I'm not sure if this was a one off or just passengers over dramatising a normal queue? People sometimes forget that the UK Border Force are a government agency and like the Police, the NHS and so on, they have limited resources to open additional lanes at busy times. It might not be an ideal situation but I don't think Joe public would accept paying more tax simply to offer a queue busting service.
#UKBF #immigration #manchesterairportdelays

 

[Jerry]

People sometimes forget that the UK Border Force are a government agency and like the Police, the NHS and so on, they have limited resources to open additional lanes at busy times.

Isn't that where the e gates come in? As they can be monitored by non Border Force staff.

 

[Aviador]

Isn't that where the e gates come in? As they can be monitored by non Border Force staff.

Perhaps so, but the technology for e-gates is still fairly new, or rather their use is still on the limited side. Does the UK Border Force pay for them or the airport? Rest assured, they'll be an expensive piece of kit even if it is just a glorified supermarket barcode reader.

 

[Jerry]

Perhaps so, but the technology for e-gates is still fairly new, or rather their use is still on the limited side. Does the UK Border Force pay for them or the airport? Rest assured, they'll be an expensive piece of kit even if it is just a glorified supermarket barcode reader.

I'd have thought that the airport would pay

 

[owebee1968]

Isn't that where the e gates come in? As they can be monitored by non Border Force staff.

The E-gates are only monitored by Border Force staff. The airport provides Customer Service Assistants to help passengers use the gates but they do not monitor passengers going through them.

 

[paully]

They also offer a passport fast track service at Manchester, following on from its introduction at Stansted last year. Ok its a few quid more and you should`nt have to pay, but in the grand scheme of things, if your not travelling every week then its something to consider.
We used it at Stansted and it worked for us. We were recently offered the service for our October visit, for a silly money price, so we`ll see if its as good.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Agreed about the airport being blamed for events outside of their control.

E-gates are great if you know they work however, if like me you wear glasses and need to remove them then I can't read the flipping instructions!!

 

[Silvercity]

Isn't that where the e gates come in? As they can be monitored by non Border Force staff.

I think there are a sizeable amount of passengers who are not at ease using them, and they can be temperamental.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

Fewer and fewer passengers are using e-gates for the first time. Regulars are used to them now (and not just at MAN - they're proliferating at airports worldwide). Most international pax at MAN have used them at least once before. Familiarity is growing.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Fewer and fewer passengers are using e-gates for the first time. Regulars are used to them now (and not just at MAN - they're proliferating at airports worldwide). Most international pax at MAN have used them at least once before. Familiarity is growing.

But not all airports worldwide have the same system. At Melbourne Tullamarine for example you have to go to one machine and input some details to receive a label that is then used at another machine to allow you access through the gates. The first time my wife and I encountered this we were flummoxed. There was someone on hand to explain the system. I suspect when we go through MEL the next time we will have forgotten 'their' system and need more help.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

But not all airports worldwide have the same system.

Yes, there are different systems. But in general most travellers are no longer thrown into a panic when they encounter automation at an airport. It is expected now. At MAN alone we have automated check-in machines, automated access to security, body scanners, automated access to the T3 FlyBe pier, immigration e.gates, and car park / rail ticket machines. Probably lots of others I've overlooked as well.

 

[Coathanger16]

Yes, there are different systems. But in general most travellers are no longer thrown into a panic when they encounter automation at an airport. It is expected now. At MAN alone we have automated check-in machines, automated access to security, body scanners, automated access to the T3 FlyBe pier, immigration e.gates, and car park / rail ticket machines. Probably lots of others I've overlooked as well.

I've used e-gates on many occasions at multiple airports and I've often found its not the technology that is the problem or not being able to use it, but how dopey passengers can be! Its all to common for passengers to be busy checking their phones or engrossed in conversation that when they get to the front of the queue they don't notice or even bother looking up to see if there is a gate free. It often takes an attendant calling them or even going over to them before they actually go to a gate.

I arrived into BHX a month ago and used the e-gates there. Even though there was a queue (I had just arrived on an Emirates A380) there was always a free gate. If people had been more aware there wouldn't have been a queue.

Interestingly I then went through Auckland immigration a couple of weeks later and they too had e-gates but it seemed to work better. Instead of having the typical snake like back and forth queue lines like at BHX, immigration/border control is just a big room with e-gates down the middle. There are no designated queues for each gate and so you can choose which to go to. Considering AKL's busier than BHX, I arrived into both on an Emirates A380 at around the same time of day, it took much less time to go through AKL arrivals. In fact both arrivals took a similar amount of time even considering you had to walk further at AKL and go through immigration checks.

Just goes to show its not necessarily the system/technology used (in this case e-gates) that is the problem, but actually how that system is managed.

 

[Coathanger16]

In fact both arrivals took a similar amount of time even considering you had to walk further at AKL and go through immigration checks

I meant to say custom checks not immigration checks

 

[Seasider]

I flew out of MAN April 15 a nice and easy passage thro' check in and security. Arriving back on April 29, again nice smooth passage and arrived at station within 35 mins of landing.
Both were domestic flights.

 

[Jamman]

Flew back into MAN on 15th April form Iceland on Icelandair, security line was non-existent, used the e-passport thingy and it worked first time, baggage took ages to come out even though I was saga class the bags didn't seem to come out in any particular order.
Funny, the double door thingy that you go through before landside was broken so there was a very bored looking woman sat on a chair making sure no one went back airside.

 

[Aviador]

@dwdenning on Twitter

More disastrous Monday am security queues at T1 Manchester Airport. 20 mins before Evan able to present my boarding pass. Not fit for purpose. Understaffed and process too slow.

I know criticism of airport security is fairly frequent at most airports as many people just view it as an inconvenience but this week the complaints have been flowing fast with numerous media reports about the delays. Does anybody have any inside knowledge about what's going on?

The official version is too many people arriving at security at the same time but the airport should know full well how many passengers to expect.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Ridiculous situation. I did email the senior press officer today, pointing out the comments on Dried Fruit, and he replied that " The security Team are aware of the current issues and are working to rectify it".

 

[Aviador]

Ridiculous situation. I did email the senior press officer today, pointing out the comments on Dried Fruit, and he replied that " The security Team are aware of the current issues and are working to rectify it".

Is Manchester airport security still in-house or is it contracted out?

 

[Silvercity]

A f

@dwdenning on Twitter



I know criticism of airport security is fairly frequent at most airports as many people just view it as an inconvenience but this week the complaints have been flowing fast with numerous media reports about the delays. Does anybody have any inside knowledge about what's going on?

The official version is too many people arriving at security at the same time but the airport should know full well how many passengers to expect.[/QUOT

A friend of mine...her husband went from Term 3 to Dublin on Monday morning send the queues were very bad through security.

A friend of mine went to Dublin early on Monday Morning said the queues at T3 security was very bad.

 

[Jerry]

A f


A friend of mine went to Dublin early on Monday Morning said the queues at T3 security was very bad.

My sister flew out of there on Sunday with Virgin ( i don't know what terminal) and said queues were bad .