irishguy28

The following article shows the situation in the intermediate aftermath of the airport's reopening after the March 2016 attack at the airport.

Back then, queues stretched even to enter the building.

The report states that wait times were 90 minutes.

http://nos.nl/artikel/2102874-geen-l...-zaventem.html

irishguy28

The most recent article I can find about disruption at Zaventem is this article from 15 June last. A power failure at the airport disrupted all operations, meaning flights were delayed, and people were not allowed into the terminal for several hours.

https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/buitenland/...r-vliegverkeer

irishguy28

This news article, posted on 26 June, the day after your incident, is about the forthcoming weekend (29/30 June) which was the first weekend of the Belgian school summer holidays and in which Brussels Airlines were expecting 90,000 passengers, an increase of 10,000 passengers on the corresponding weekend of the previous year. But even here, the advice given by Brussels Airport is to be at the airport 2 hours before departure.

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/2/Reizen/ar...-Airport.dhtml

vvaldellon

26 June was perfectly fine. The line was much shorter. Which was a bit more like the photo that I posted. I posted that photo to show the belts, not meant to be indicative of the number of people on Sunday, the day of the incident in question. There was about triple of that, and as mentioned previously, about 2/3 of the windows were open and processing people.

We couldn't. In fact when we first arrived in line our vantage point looked a bit closer to this, where there was a narrow line from the security area leading up to a belt maze. 9:25-10:10/10:15, about 45 minutes so the pictures you provided ought to be longer naturally as well especially if they had more windows open.

vvaldellon

How come you keep assuming we are teleporting from line to line? I also specified there was a roughly 10 minute delay in that line where they checked one of our bottles.

vvaldellon

Hey, I'm looking at some of these articles.... This one looks like a photo of everyone moved outside due to a terror attack. And even then, in the article itself it says people complained of 3 hour waits, not 90 minutes... our wait was 45 minutes-ish range and even that was insufficient time.

irishguy28

That was the situation after the airport re-opened after its closure due to the terrorist attack. (When there is a terror attack in progress you don't hold the public outside queuing up to get in). The article said nothing about 3 hours...the only measure of time given was "De wachttijden liepen op tot zeker anderhalf uur." - waiting times of up to one-and-a-half hours.

irishguy28

This is the first piece that hints at anything like your experience:

That said...I have not seen any of these shameful pictures from Brussels yet!

vvaldellon

Firstly, thanks for continuing to follow our situation irishguy28, we appreciate it!

Found where I saw the 3 hour time, it was in the "yesterday" link for Zaventem in the article with the picture of everyone outside. I guess we're digressing from the original point, but yes the lines can be long. Fortunately it was not this long, but unfortunately it was not short enough for us to get to the gate in time..

Makes me kick myself for not documenting the experience because I assume I would have to prove the line length anyway that day if I wanted to take it to small claims.. Unless I could request the airport provide footage..?

Aer Lingus mailed me an amount that coincides with the cost of one of our 3 tickets (without my request), I'm unsure of my next step at this juncture as trip insurance isn't covered for 2 of us; still considering small claims (filed here in the US, to file it overseas would be pointless because we wouldn't be able to be present)

irishguy28

Yes we are, but can you link to the article you mention tht talks about 3-hour lines at Brussels Airport please?

Various Flemish media outlets now have articles about the A4E report I mentioned, with added commentary from a Brussels Airlines staffer specifically addressing the situation in BRU:


Brussels Airlines spokesman Geert Sciot confirms that the queues have grown dramatically in Brussels since the introduction of the new procedures in the spring. "We hope that the Federal Police find a solution. The security checks are working fine, it's passport control that causes the problems". Longhaul flights are delayed by up to 45 minutes because passengers don't arrive at the gate on time, he says.

vvaldellon

Interesting. Well I suppose that helps substantiate my experience. Nice find. Unfortunately our flight wasn't delayed, they just departed without us.

irishguy28

Your article is from May 2016 and refers to the widespread and long-lasting chaos when the airport re-opened after the terror attacks; the images from that time were posted earlier in the thread.

There were also instances of intending passengers abandoning their vehicles on the highway and attempting to make the airport on foot, dragging their cases behind them on the motorway, from around that time last year.



The longest "delay" I can find mentioned in news reports for July 2017 is 45 minutes.

vvaldellon

Yes, it was linked to that original article you had mentioned (Also posted in May 2016 I believe) as an example of wait times being 90 minutes with the people being outside. I ended up looking into it a bit deeper and saw the note of it being up to 3 hours.

Not sure if you mean delay in the lines or delay in departure, but our line was held up for about that amount of time, but our flight departed on time apparently.

BigFlyer

Customs vs. Immigration: The vast majority of Americans don't know the difference. I suspect this is because at US airports the agents handling customs and passport control are interchangeable - they can work one function one day and another the next. Also, the passport control officer performs a customs function - they will often ask what the traveller is carrying and can refer the traveler to secondary customs inspection.

Litigation: If the ticket was bought from Expedia in the US then there is a shot at venue in the US. I would not recommend an EU claim - but, a simple contract claim. The travelers arrived at check-in early, came back when they were told to by the airline, but that was insufficient time to get to the gate. I would argue the fault is on the airline for not checking them in when they first arrived, or, failing that, for then not opening up in time later for them to get to the gate. Seems to me it is the job of the airline to open up check-in sufficiently in advance to allow passengers to get to the gate on time for the flight, and to have sufficient check-in personnel.

The above is not an analysis of whether the story make sense - but, just how I think it should be approached in US small claims court.

The line at passport control might also have been shorter for EU/EEA passport holders, which could explain why most probably made it to the flight on time.

vvaldellon

A succinct and purposeful reply. Thank you for the advice, we are considering moving it to small claims, after a few more attempts to try and work with the airline. I fully agree with the suggested position you posited.