Discus

F-wing is IMHO the only security-lane that works well at LHR T5. When connecting, and the lanes at passport-machines are short, I tend to enter the UK and then head of to the F-wing to go through there. The Regular security-lanes just makes me angry (from recent years of using them). I have not tried them after F-wing opened, but earlier you could expect at last 30 mins delay if your bag went to secondary screening, and most often it was just a random check and they had to empty the entire thing, sending every bit an peace through the machine again. And also the stupid thing with fast-rack/slow-rack, where you were not allowed to swap lines even if slow-track was empty. T5 to T3 made me less frustrated than a T5-transfer...

I am no using BA less and less because of the UK-rule that ever transfer passenger must be screened. Transferring other places in Europe is just a no-brainer, so I try to avoid LHR as much as possible.

jlsw7

I completely agree. Manchester security is dreadful. The staff are slow, rude, petty, inconsistent and poorly managed.

PUCCI GALORE

[QUOTE=nordic;29186317]I would not dream of speaking for anyone else's spouse but my own.

I am interested to know that I am not alone. I think that word that I was missing was "cordial". It's just not there. Someone made a very good simile with working to rule - I'd go one further with the word "by rote",

Someone else said that you' have to have balls to criticise T5 after AMM. Since I was born and spent my life without any - although I have been told that I have more than some men - I would say that just because they are odious does not require others to copy them. T5 First is much easier only because it is quieter. I do agree with the comment about the trays, but consideration of others is not always a present with frequent fliers, or those who consider that such tasks belong to the Hired Help.

manord

Like many others on here, I have experienced security at ~100 airports around the world, from the largest to tiny local airports, and some specific airports fairly frequently.

MAN T3 security is consistently the worst I encounter. (MAN T1 and T2 aren't far behind.) The so-called fast track at MAN T3 is disgraceful. There is no separate xray belt or person scanner, merely 2 of the 4 loading positions "reserved" for fast track (except they aren't reserved and staff encourage non fast track passengers to use them). The staff aren't quite as bad as some comments on here, but they are still among the worst around (slow, disinterested, inflexible, occasionally aggressive). Not enough capacity of machines or staff to handle the passenger numbers (esp. fast track).

Next worst would be connections at LHR T5 and T3 (under-capacity, staff attitudes, etc.).

I find LHR T5 TFW to be among the best experiences now. LHR T3 fast track is OK too.

Abroad, the best are the small local airports in the USA (especially if you have TSA precheck) and the worst is probably LAX TBIT (shambolic management of queues and random closures of fast track).

Management and staff at MAN (and LHR connections) need to get it through their heads that fast track is supposed to be separate and faster. That means (1) it should remain empty if there are no fast track passengers, not to be jammed full with non fast track passengers to ease those lanes - else how can it fulfill its function of being fast when a fast track passenger does arrive? (2) really need to run separate xray belts for fast track (3) ideally but not critical, separate person scanners too.

If MAN complain they are competing against LPL, then they need to realize that LPL security passenger experience is much better (fast track and non fast track). Overall, management, staff and facilities at MAN all need major improvement for passenger experience.

AnneRamsay

Connecting between two EU destinations, one security agent was barking at me to "push" without any further qualifiers as I was waiting to have my stuff scanned on the belt. "Push! Push! You! DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH"? she demanded to know, as she was gesturing me to push my tray. Yes, I do, thank you, plus an Oxbridge DPhil. Maybe if that agent had a better grasp on how to communicate with people, she would not be so frustrated by their apparent incapacity to read her mind.

xenole

I suppose it must get frustrating when you've 1000s of people passing through security everyday, and regardless of how many signs are there, how many times people are educated, or how many times they are verbally told, people still leave liquids, laptops etc. in their bags or get to the trays and spend 15 minutes sorting their stuff out.

Ancient Observer

In praise of Stansted.
In the past, I have hated Stansted, and vowed to avoid it. However, on a cheap package deal to Morocco, it was Stansted or no deal. We arrived at peak time in the morning. The staff were polite, the queues were short, and we walked through the whole security experience with no problems at all.

If Stansted can do it, why can't LHR?

However, if I worked as a minimum wage Security bod, meeting the unwashed who are often stressed about flying/airports, and grumpy, then I guess my normally pleasant interactions would lose some quality!!

fransknorge

Although I have to say I sympathise with them a fair bit.
this morning I pass through BUD airport, and despite clear signage for people to take their trays away to the packing zone and put them in the colllection bin afterwards, nearly nobody does it. All passengers were collecting their stuff at the belt and left their trays. I thought it would be hard for me to remain really nice to people when most don’t give a damn. I would add the staff there was very polite and nice,

nobbyclark

The problem I see most regularly is their slothful movement. Last week a passenger had overfilled their clear, resealable plastic bag and it wouldn't shut. So the sloth took everything out - slowly - and then put everything back in again - slowly - and also in a companion's clear, resealable plastic bag - slowly - to cope with the excess. Was probably only 3 minutes of slothfulness, but my head almost exploded having to watch it.

South London Bon Viveur

Presumably the staff at T5 are rotated through the various parts of security, so that in overall terms the ones at T5 transit are the same ones that you encounter at First Wing? In which case it is interesting that nobody (myself included) seems to have encountered rude or surly staff at First Wing, but T5 transfer gets panned. I guess that a transit experience is often inherently more stressful, particularly if coming off LH, but I imagine that staff and pax attitude is also influenced by crowding. First Wing (and similar fast track arrangements at LHR) are by definition a bit less fraught because there are (or should be) fewer people- I imagine there is an element to which pax recollections are influenced by their own stress at the time (n.b. I'm not disputing what's been said above about the horrid T5 transit experience- I hear it all the time).

corporate-wage-slave

HAL staff are indeed changed around different positions in the airport, and Flight Connections uses the same rota system as main South and North security, it's the same working area after all. My understanding is that security staff in the First Wing are specially selected. It's not as simple as saying the best ones go there, there are one or two disabled agents who work in the First Wing for practical reasons. But usually most First Wing users do actually know the various restrictions, after all they been in existence for 11 years.

South London Bon Viveur

Agree that really is irritating. The last time it happened I was in a real hurry, but the reality is that some people are slower, others get confused- I always have to remind myself not to take it personally!

As I stand behind the sloth I always muse to myself whether if I were CEO of an airport I would have an additional fast track channel that was not based on status but demonstrable ability of the user (subject to licence and regular checks) to be able to move through the system within a designated time. Of course we all occasionally mess things up (e.g. by not removing a belt or coins) and everyone deserves a second chance, but under my system you would be tested initially, and then timed every time you went through, to make sure you maintained the standard. Before anyone chastises me being unrealistic and challenges the logistics involved- I am of course only half serious. it's the kind of silly day dreaming that comes from spending a lot of time alone in airports

Andrew_G

No contest: MAN T3 wins hands down. They are less "security theatre" and more "security circus". Not only for the reasons posted up-thread, but when they recently found a passenger (Nadeem Muhammad) carrying an improvised explosive device, the security manager put the device in her pocket, and the suspect was released. They were quite rightly severely criticized by Judge Field at the subsequent trial.

Leaping_Deere

Dear Madam Pucci,

As a few have said, whilst we the assembled company have our own set of liquids in a small bag ready at home all the time, wear belt free trousers when we fly and get out laptops out whilst queuing. We are a minority, many people travelling putting a carrier bag full of liquids. Leaving a laptop at the very bottom of a bag and people bringing cordless drills and I'm sure many other weird and wonderful things.

I know it's part of the job and it's not hard to put on a smile but that's this one of things that makes Britain great. We know it's not the best job in world and they know it isn't, maybe life didn't turn out as they planned so why pretend that they should be happy!

Jokes aside I find T5 security to be on the whole to be pretty good (never used the transfer) Now I have pre-check the smallest USA airports that offer it are usually painless. I fly to Louisville semi-regular, which is quite small and that has pre check and I get through quickly. Yet I remember before I got GE, some horrendous queues and service in ORD & EWE some years back.

I also think comparing security on a global is a bit of an inexact science. I find security in Latin America and New Zealand to be painless, in the case of Latin America very casual, but these are regions of the world where airline terrorism is not really a problem (for now) and so they don't have the same protocols.

JayeJ

My limited experience echos the sentiments expressed here. 2 times through LGW this last September went great; security are very personable there, even to those pulled aside for secondary check. T5 transit is terrible... one lady in particular if unlucky enough to get her. They act as if you did it on purpose and therefore must be punished. At LAX I've left my liquids bag and my computer in my carry on and no one said a word. At T5 they threaten passengers with a 45 minute delay. We're learning... got through without a snag last time.

We've used first wing security twice this past year and it was great. Both times we were the only ones there and staff were very friendly in spite of Mr. JJ accidentally leaving a bottle of (still wrapped from the store) cologne in his carry on. We were able to pay (a hefty sum of which HE won't be informed) to have it sent to us. Well done.