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Why does T5 immigration have to be such a joke?

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Why does T5 immigration have to be such a joke?

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Old Aug 21, 2014, 5:21 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by paul4040
YYZ has a special place in hell though. I love Canada so much but the immigration process you guys have is borderline hostile.

I was detained for two hours because I was a single male travelling on my own...
It can be just as fun for returning residents believe me. Considering they let everybody in the end anyway I don't understand the hostility either.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 5:29 pm
  #17  
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The only time I have been required to have a secondary screen was at YYZ and yes I was a single male travelling alone.

No Idea why I had been selected as none of my answers was particularly controversial.

The secondary screen was basically another guy asking me the exact same questions to which I gave the same answers - there for 6 days, tourism (with specific examples of places I wanted to visit and not just the usual tourist haunts) and an assurance I had a hotel and cash. He then apologised for the inconvenience as he had no idea why I had been picked out. I guess I was lucky that this extra screen only took 5 minutes.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 5:44 pm
  #18  
 
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The e-passport gates have never worked for me in the 4 times that I have used them and every time I've been sent to a desk afterwards, there has been a queue of people for just one desk for the people who failed to get through the e-gates.

I personally prefer immigration at home in Newcastle - despite being such a small airport in comparison we will have 6 desks and they are always all staffed - never have I been stood still in a line - at least not since they added desks - always moving on.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 5:48 pm
  #19  
 
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I avoid the e-gates. Not only are they normally slower but my image scares the hell out of me.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:30 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by shorthauldad
The outer Schengen border is (based on our experiences last month) considerably easier to cross than the UK border. Waving the outside of a stack of passports is sufficient...
So one stream makes a river? How incredibly ignorant!

Originally Posted by FlyingB1975
I believe the UK used to do this prior to the current government deciding that limited resources should be used for scanning passports rather than searching for drugs and weapons.
What a hugely arrogant statement given the fact that it was rejected, in effect, in 1999 by the then current government - to re-jog your memory - Labour. To go OT, the current government is only trying (feebly) to reduce the deficit, hence public spending cut!
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:36 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by dodgeflyer

So one stream makes a river? How incredibly ignorant!


Shorthauldad was making it clear that he was speaking from his own experiences...which is all any poster can really do on FT.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:42 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by paul4040


Shorthauldad was making it clear that he was speaking from his own experiences...which is all any poster can really do on FT.
One experience does not qualify as an opinion and to say that a network of 26 nations are failing to secure the borders of those countries... It is at best a hugely ignorant, and to defend that... well!
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:45 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by dodgeflyer

One experience does not qualify as an opinion
Yes it does.

I went to Istanbul once. It's great. That's my opinion.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:46 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by paul4040
Yes it does.

I went to Istanbul once. It's great. That's my opinion.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 6:51 pm
  #25  
 
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Why does T5 immigration have to be such a joke?

I've never really understood why a minority of people go to such effort to be rude on here. I'll leave it at that.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 7:14 pm
  #26  
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I think it's all got worse since the endless showing of TV reality shows of customs and border patrol from around the world and they all think they are auditioning for Hollywood.
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 7:19 pm
  #27  
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This conversation has veered off the issue of "convenience for travellers to T5" into more of a debate about the border policy so it has been moved to its appropriate home.

LTN Phobia
Moderator: BA forum
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Old Aug 21, 2014, 7:24 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by dodgeflyer
One experience does not qualify as an opinion and to say that a network of 26 nations are failing to secure the borders of those countries... It is at best a hugely ignorant, and to defend that... well!
Well let me add my experiences. I concur with paul4040.

Now do we have enough data for an opinion?
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Old Aug 22, 2014, 2:42 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by NeverFirst
Well, aside from the Schengen question, why not just buy 10 or 20 e-passport kiosks (and maintain them so they work) and speed people up?

I have no idea how much they cost but let's say £50k apiece, I'm sure that's offset by any salary savings, especially over a multi-year period.
Salary savings?

Have you noticed that the handful of kiosks require two passport officers to sit at the desk behind and babysit them, plus at least one LHR person to stand in front and babysit the queue?

Three completely automatic gates requiring only three full-time humans for them to work.

Isn't technology amazing?
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Old Aug 22, 2014, 4:37 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by shorthauldad
Salary savings?

Have you noticed that the handful of kiosks require two passport officers to sit at the desk behind and babysit them, plus at least one LHR person to stand in front and babysit the queue?

Three completely automatic gates requiring only three full-time humans for them to work.

Isn't technology amazing?
Iris was....
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