T5 queues this morning (weekend AM peaks)

Old Jul 18, 2020, 4:50 am
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HAL T5 security staff with an attitude? At least some things are still the same.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 4:50 am
  #47  
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Originally Posted by SpeedbirdLHR
Queues are to be expected going forward as long as several countries have added requirements that airlines need to check before they accept customers. As mentioned elsewhere, OLCI has been disabled for several destinations due to these checks - off the top of my head I can think of Italy, Greece, Turkey, Poland that all have OLCI restrictions. I'd guess even a basic transaction could now easily take up to 5 minutes to complete. Through in travellers who don't come prepared and those who haven't got the required documents and that then increases transactions further.
The Purser on my flight said there had been some last minute changes about temp checks for some countries which meant people couldn't check in on line which was making the queues worse.

Originally Posted by RoyalSwazi
HAL T5 security staff with an attitude? At least some things are still the same.
In the First wing they are usually delightful. I sometimes go airside when connecting as it is a pleasant experience to go through the First wing scanning.

Last edited by Prospero; Jul 18, 2020 at 5:01 am Reason: Merge consecutive posts
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 5:06 am
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A rather specific question if I may. Thanks in advance.

For UK domestics , no check-in baggage and have BP, can you by pass the queue and go straight to the passport gate in the first wing?
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 5:07 am
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Originally Posted by RoyalSwazi
HAL T5 security staff with an attitude? At least some things are still the same.
Really? I find them easy to deal with, just play deaf and mute and act like you have no idea what they are saying!

One day I did get so angry at T5that I asked for a supervisor and asked him what kind of joke this is that you have a lot of staff doing nothing and you have plenty of staff to open further security lines and I wrote a 'comment' and posted it in the 'comment box', which he said he would be happy to read. Since he was the one reading it, he probably threw it straight to the bin!
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 5:08 am
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Originally Posted by crazyarmadillo
A rather specific question if I may. Thanks in advance.

For UK domestics , no check-in baggage and have BP, can you by pass the queue and go straight to the passport gate in the first wing?
I did, after waiting for a few minutes in the queue and realising it would be a long wait , I walked to the desk and asked and they said to go through. I saw that a few people then did the same behind me. I wasn't DYKWIA and if they had said no I would have left the First queue and gone through standard scanning.

I think if they had been actively announcing this the queue would have been much shorter. Some people may not have had boarding cards though even if just with hand luggage as OLCI not available to some destinations.

I am pretty sure that not all the desks in the First wing were manned.

I had wanted to check my bag and had to dump a couple of toiletry items to go though.
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Last edited by Barnaby100; Jul 18, 2020 at 5:19 am
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 5:08 am
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I suspect that even with the reduced number of flights, there's a substantial change in passenger flows at T5. BA used to be a network carrier with substantial numbers transferring from short-haul flights to long-haul (and vice versa). With virtually no long-haul operation, T5 is going to be primarily O&D, which will mean substantial pinch points at security (as opposed to the FCC), and I would imagine inbound at the border as well, particularly with no more eGates. Hopefully HAL can move some staff around, and bring back more when necessary - it looks pretty rubbish at the moment.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 5:11 am
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Does anyone know how T5 compares to T2? I wonder if LHR is adequately managing staffing levels on the 2 terminals that are open.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 6:29 am
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First Wing no longer accepting checked baggage as of now (I am here). Need to use main queues.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 6:30 am
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas
Does anyone know how T5 compares to T2? I wonder if LHR is adequately managing staffing levels on the 2 terminals that are open.
When I was there at the end of June, on a lunchtime flight, there were perhaps only 15 to 20 departures left for the day. Gold Track was closed, but there was no queue for security. I'm not sure how many extra passengers there will be now.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 6:31 am
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Seems the majority of BA flights are scheduled to depart early morning - not the greatest idea to encourage distancing!
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 6:38 am
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Originally Posted by Raffles
First Wing no longer accepting checked baggage as of now (I am here). Need to use main queues.
😮 thats bad.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 6:51 am
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Originally Posted by ahmetdouas
Does anyone know how T5 compares to T2? I wonder if LHR is adequately managing staffing levels on the 2 terminals that are open.
Heathrow resource is continuously balanced across the two operational terminals.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 7:04 am
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Originally Posted by RoyalSwazi
HAL T5 security staff with an attitude? At least some things are still the same.
If you want snotty security staff, try Manchester for size. The only airport in the UK that makes it's own rules up, then expects you to second guess what they are. Add in the fact that it is a predominantly bucket & spade airport with once a year flyers/inexperienced travellers and the whole thing ends up being a mess. To put the cherry on top of the cake, they then start shouting at the queue, about how it's their own fault if there are delays for not following the rules.

This is the same airport where on more than one occasion, my bags have been pulled up, I've waited 20 minutes for a manual search for the staff member to shrug and tell me that they've got no idea why my bags been pulled up. That's obviously my fault. Anyway, I digress.

Are LHR security still making everyone take their shoes off? Was that just an LHR thing or are other airports doing it too? That'll undoubtedly slow things down if they continue with it as traffic picks up again.
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Last edited by kdhurst380; Jul 18, 2020 at 7:11 am
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 7:09 am
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Ironically many of these people complain about social distancing onboard.
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Old Jul 18, 2020, 7:10 am
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Originally Posted by Barnaby100
The Purser on my flight said there had been some last minute changes about temp checks for some countries which meant people couldn't check in on line which was making the queues worse.
There are inevitably going to be changes to other countries' entry requirements on an almost daily basis for the next few months.

You'd think that the airport and airlines would have spent the last few months coming up with a process for dealing efficiently with the inevitable, rather than being taken by surprise and having angry queues halfway down the terminal.
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