Can someone please confirm whether fast track immigration remains open in the afternoon (and until when exactly), or was it just the Olympics?

Thanks!

I will be transiting LHR T5 on BA in early October: arrive at 9:30AM and leave at 12:30PM for ORY, according to the schedules. I'm assuming I clear customs/immigration in LHR and am considered domestic traffic in Paris. Will the morning customs rush have abated by 9:30?

Rob

The UK is not part of the Schengen area, so you will clear customs and immigration in Paris.

You will, however, have the delightful experience of being UK security cleared when you use 'Flight Connections.'

No. As Final 3 Greens says, London-Paris is a fully international sector. So you only clear security at LHR; you will clear immigration, collect bags and clear customs at ORY.

Thanks for the speedy replies.

Came past today and there was a notice with the opening hours. Can't remember exactly (just noticed in passing) but I think it closes at 13.00 or possibly 13.30.

It's 14 hrs normally, indeed they did stretch it a bit during the Olympics, and they will also keep it going past 14 hrs if there are still queues at that point - which is unlikely of late (until probably the end of August week-endings, when I suspect there maybe a few sticky days.)

Arriving on BA107 last night at 22:50pm

Queues for immigration at DXB Terminal 1
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...dxb-queues.jpg


Marhaba arrivals service que at DXB Terminal 1
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...aba-queues.jpg

I think the pictures speak for themselves!

$85 for the family meet and greet including a buggy ride through the airport and porter service. Money well spent! :D

Wow - I didn't know about that service. The top photo there looks actually pretty good compared with my last couple of trips.

I think I'll check it - sounds like a bargain.

EDIT: I thought that $85 was USD. I just googled and it's UAE so the service is about £15! That's a no-brainer for sure.

I hate the immigration queues at DXB. And I have to go there twice next year so I will use the Marhaba service.

Thanks for posting about this service PanGalactic! ^

The best thing about DXB arrivals is that the entire immigration hall is covered with free WiFi. So even if your wait is long you can catch up on emails, etc. I've never understood why all US and Euro immigration areas try to ban communication. I mean I know their supposed reason, but it doesn't make any sense. Bravo Dubai!

Well, last time I was there, there were similarly long queues but we were lucky one of the staff took pity on us and opened a new queue for us.

I didn't want to take a chance this time so I booked the arrivals service and I was in my hotel room before midnight local time and managed to get food delivered from one of the restaurants rather than room service from the night menu ^^ :)

It definitely took the stress out of arriving and it was funny when the buggy drove past all the rude people who pushed past us on the walkway after exiting the aircraft, on the way to immigration, mwahahaha :D That alone was worth it :)

Chaos @ T3 today 4pm. Many flights arriving from Asia and lines backing up into the corridors approaching passport control. No staff offering any guidance at all ("oh that's BAA" said the jobs worth in a purple jacket I spoke to). At least in the USA, even when it's really bad, they usually manage the Qs. It took me 5 mins to get to the completely empty Iris lane that was actually working for once. I think there was a single epassport lane working. But at the back it was just one big logjam of people who couldn't see where they were going or how to get there. Just embarrassing and sad for them. Personally I was 15 mins from gate to car park but only thanks to J-class and Iris. I will weep when iris finally disappears.

I thought that as you come down the stairs towards the immigration hall there were signs on the dividing rails saying "EU left" and "non-EU right"?

gbogo, there you hit the core of the problem. It's not the inadequate staffing of assorted desks for EU, non-EU, slightly EU or e-passport issued by a country that doesn't feature on the Border Agency database because they forgot that one.

It is the UTTER inability of [whoever is responsible] to manage queues [which we invented] and produce signage that is actually legible, meaningful and helpful.

Oh, and the utter idiot/s who designed the Border architecture.

Mercifully I don't use T3, but your scenario could be transferred to T5 seamlessly.