Perplexed: Pax going in opposite direction at T5 Domestic Arrivals > Airside
May 4, 2019, 4:24 am
#1
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Perplexed: Pax going in opposite direction at T5 Domestic Arrivals > Airside
Gurus, I hope someone can explain this.
Arrived yesterday from Aberdeen at the T5 Domestic Arrival 'clean' zone and was in the queue for the boarding pass check to go upstairs airside.
There seemed to be a delay and then I noticed a small group of 5 or 6 pax on the 'checked' side of the security desk and they were one-by-one going in the opposite direction. It looked as though they were having their photos taken, as each process seemed to take about 30-45 seconds. Once this was done they stood in a group at the 'unchecked' side of the desk. Once they were all done, they headed off to the T2/T3/T4 transfer area.
I have no idea what was happening - any ideas?
Arrived yesterday from Aberdeen at the T5 Domestic Arrival 'clean' zone and was in the queue for the boarding pass check to go upstairs airside.
There seemed to be a delay and then I noticed a small group of 5 or 6 pax on the 'checked' side of the security desk and they were one-by-one going in the opposite direction. It looked as though they were having their photos taken, as each process seemed to take about 30-45 seconds. Once this was done they stood in a group at the 'unchecked' side of the desk. Once they were all done, they headed off to the T2/T3/T4 transfer area.
I have no idea what was happening - any ideas?
May 4, 2019, 4:35 am
#3
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My guess is that these are passengers who either missed or were bumped from their Dublin flight and needing to go T2 for Aer Lingus. They would need their biometrics checked in order to leave airside.
Alternatively, if no biometrics, maybe they were on a USA flights, and were therefore being transferred from airside T5 to airside T3 for an AA alternative. The process being done was to take them out of Ready to Fly. This would be as an alternative to going on the transit to T5C. If they indeed had their biometrics checked, it suggests they were originally on an domestic departing service, but then usually they would be doing this operation in order to go landside, not to T3 (etc) though there's no problem with doing that. I guess one other option would be if they were being transferred to FlyBe to EDI out of T2, but that's implausible for various reasons.
That route is also used by staff / HAL workers for various reasons.
Alternatively, if no biometrics, maybe they were on a USA flights, and were therefore being transferred from airside T5 to airside T3 for an AA alternative. The process being done was to take them out of Ready to Fly. This would be as an alternative to going on the transit to T5C. If they indeed had their biometrics checked, it suggests they were originally on an domestic departing service, but then usually they would be doing this operation in order to go landside, not to T3 (etc) though there's no problem with doing that. I guess one other option would be if they were being transferred to FlyBe to EDI out of T2, but that's implausible for various reasons.
That route is also used by staff / HAL workers for various reasons.
May 4, 2019, 5:18 am
#5
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I think I used this route recently when I cancelled a trip at the gate and had to be escorted land-side. There were six or seven of us — four were transferring to another terminal and the rest were going landslide at T5.
Doc Copper
Doc Copper
May 4, 2019, 6:26 am
#6
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I think I used this route recently when I cancelled a trip at the gate and had to be escorted land-side
May 4, 2019, 6:28 am
#7
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Alternatively, if no biometrics, maybe they were on a USA flights, and were therefore being transferred from airside T5 to airside T3 for an AA alternative. The process being done was to take them out of Ready to Fly.
May 4, 2019, 6:33 am
#8
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When I was last there, I noticed loads of staff going through as I was queuing for my BP check. All of them flashed Id at the person who was doing the BP check, but she never actually looked up or acknowledged them. It would be very easy for somebody airside to enter the UK via this route.
May 4, 2019, 6:36 am
#9
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It would be quicker and easier to go via the route mentioned here, rather than waiting for a transit and returning on it. But most people won't have a clue about any of this, so they will be given instructions by BA staff to go to this checkpoint, and at that location you may as well clear down the system - after all, they may still need to come back into T5 later on.
May 4, 2019, 9:11 am
#10
Join Date: Dec 2009
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THREAD DRIFT
Can our esteemed guru turn the clock back, or is the next FT BA DO in Gib in March 12019?
C-W-S footer:
We're glad you're here
Next FT BA Do: Gibraltar, Saturday 23 March 2019 - all welcome!
We're glad you're here
Next FT BA Do: Gibraltar, Saturday 23 March 2019 - all welcome!
May 4, 2019, 11:21 am
#11
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What would you suggest?
May 4, 2019, 11:24 am
#12
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May 4, 2019, 1:01 pm
#13
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Yeah, I appreciate the issue, but I'm not sure we have a real "Do" on at the moment. We have a dodgy car thing going on in some obscure part of Iceland, and young KARFA's beauty sleep being interrupted by a herd of randoms in Albania.
What would you suggest?
What would you suggest?
Meanwhile Karfa is an absolute magnet to dodgy randoms, so I should watch that space in case it explodes like Gibraltar did. Sofia is beautiful in the springtime, but the flowers bloom more delightfully in Tirana at this time of year, as my old KGB minder was wont to opine, enigmatically.
May 4, 2019, 1:57 pm
#14
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Hmmmmmm so is this one of the ways to land yourself without embarrassingly asking the staff (never done either)?? I'll try and remember this I suppose after a few too many LPGS and dying for a fag.
May 4, 2019, 2:17 pm
#15
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Yes, but I got caught out trying to go back airside - I'd taken the route out via the train to put a bag into left luggage. I was still technically airside as I wasn't identified to the system when I used the auto passport gates, so my BP was flagged as an exception. It took a lot of head scratching in the Gold Wing with a supervisor being called down before I could get back. So although it works brilliantly, be careful if you want to go back.