PUCCI GALORE

I could not agree more. Amateurs and Volunteers. I get very irritated at the number of times that lifts or walkways are closed off for no apparent reason.

This is nothing to British Airways.

Worse is getting off the aircraft and heading down to the utterly inadequate Immigration Hall - you have to go down a flight of stairs. No Escalator - stairs. I simply do not know of a major airport in Europe or the USA where you have to do this.

All that said Security is so pleasant compared with the Sourpusses in T5. I actually prefer South Terminal - and I think that the Lounges are superb.

corporate-wage-slave

There is a step free slope on the right hand side (takes a while to go around admittedly), steps on the left, and 2 lifts in the middle. So the steps are - for me - perfect, all those rollerboards are tempted elsewhere. On escalators airport people tend to lack that London Underground discipline....

DangerM55

I like this too (for pier 2 arrivals) - always first from my plane-load to get to Immigration as most people gravitate towards the slope, which is where the signs indicate people to go where I just head straight down the stairs and save all that walking!

DangerM55

You need to be de-controlled.... To do this go to the airline customer services desk (in South Terminal looking from the bottom of the escalators in the IDL back towards the exit from World Duty Free you'll see this tucked in the corner on the left). A staff member will need to escort you to immigration (and probably take you straight to the front) and once they've completed their formalities you will be free to continue on your way unaccompanied. As the airport is compact once a staff member has been identified to escort you it's just a short walk from the IDL out through one of the staff routes and downstairs to Immigration. You can't do this yourself as the Departures area that you will be in is segregated from the Arrivals routes where immigration is.

flying_pig

Thanks. This indeed worked (I should have reported back on this thread but forgot to do so). The F lounge called the customer services desk; they couldn't find anybody to take me through, so the very kind BA staff member ended up taking me through herself. Interestingly, I had to go through the red customs channel and the BA agent flagged me to the officers. She explained that at some point there were some "pros" who would come airside, buy a ton of duty free items (some shops offer the duty free price regardless of destination), cancel the ticket and go back landside (where presumably they would resell the goods at a profit?).

DangerM55

indeed - for a while they said that you needed to return any items purchased airside before being decontrolled, but the rules have been relaxed a little bit now!

Scots_Al

But presumably if the pro in question had an EU destination then duty would be payable regardless of how the price is described, so in that sense of no concern to customs at least?

Voda_boy

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I think the wiki ( at the top of this thread) says there is no dom-intl flight connections at LGW S south so you will have to exit and reenter

Regards

TBS

LondonTechTraveller

I've been an advocate for LGW in the past but yesterday had my first experience arriving on a domestic flight in the south terminal and have revised my view somewhat!

I was aware that arriving at LGW on a domestic flight would require a bus transfer. So I was surprised that we arrived from Glasgow into a rotunda gate with the jet-bridge attaching. But reality bit quickly as having left the jet-bridge I was invited to to walk down a flight of stairs. These stairs were in a shocking state with poor lighting and gaffer tape on almost every step attempting to secure the protective edge on the steps. From here onto the bus. Long wait as ever. Then a circuitous route by bus (and another delay to opening the doors while the driver argued with a sensor to register our bus) to arrive at a kerb (no ramp) with a narrow path along the side of a building and then into a stairwell with several flights of metal stairs or a long queue for a lift. In the baggage hall there was a sign saying that the Gatwick Connect service was closed. The toilets were very small and a queue had already formed for the gents by the time I got there. I was HBO but due to the long trek to get to the baggage hall, and with due credit to the baggage handlers, the bags were arriving on the belt as we entered.

All in all I thought a sub-standard experience and an embarrassment for a London airport.

vintagepilot

I like Gatwick* for the ease of security and the lounge - but then we are almost invariably HBO from there. However, the gate issue is a farce when holding pens are used. The initial post seems to imply that one can pass through priority boarding and BP?passport check, and then straight on to the aircraft - 'I can't see the seats being much used on short haul flights in normal circumstances'.

In our experience, we have gone through the BP/passport check desk (where any suggestion of priority lanes seems pointless as you end up in the same pen) and then sat around until boarding has started - whereupon it has been an uncontrolled scrum to get down the jetty as there has been no policing of priority or group number at that stage.

* and I should have said I like this article, useful and very informative as usual CWS - thanks.

lcylocal

UKtravelbear

On my last couple of LGW-AMS there has been a staffer at the door to the jetway checking BPs for group numbers and also announcements about what group is being boarded.

And the have generally told people in later groups to wait their turn.

GlasgowCyclops

So, recently I was bored and had a wait coming form the nice exec rooms at the Hilton (thanks Hilton for the upgrade) which were like a nice 3* room, but I didn't like the smell from the non exec corridors. That made me think I wouldn't like to stay there again if I wasn't in the Exec rooms.

Option are the Sofitel in the North terminal. I wondered, which is closer time wise to the south terminal. Well walking from the back of the Hilton to the terminal takes longer than leaving the Sofitel and taking the train. So I immediately booked the Sofitel for my Feb Trip.

I've stayed in the BLOC and it is okay and close.

argonath

Flying Club Europe/Club World to Barbados from GLA via LGW and back, does this give you Fast Track Security through when connecting ?