Missed flight due to understaffed Security

MAMc01

I'm hoping to get some advice please.

On Monday 24th August, I was due to travel on a 0610 flight from BFS to LGW. I arrived at the airport before 0500 and made my way to Security as promptly as possible. The queue was considerable, but moving steadily. As I got to the front of the queue, people behind me started to ask the attendant if they could skip the queue "because our flight is at 0610" - it turned out that myself and the couple of people ahead of me were also on that same flight, so no queue skipping was available. Anyway, I eventually got to queue up my belongings on the conveyor belt and headed through the scanner, no issues there. I waited for my bag coming through and noticed it had joined the queue on the checking side. There were about 6 bags ahead of mine and only two members of staff dealing with them. The wait seemed like forever - my watch and phone were in the bag, so I have no idea how long it actually took. When I was finally seen, I was told "there was no scan of your bag so I have to put it through again". In desperation, I asked if I could at least keep my phone, but of course that wasn't an option. I just wanted to update my manager, who I was travelling with and had agreed to meet after Security. As it was, I just had to wait some more. My bag came through and once again went onto the checking side. This time there was less of a wait and it just got swabbed and then was declared "OK". I grabbed my belongings and walked as quickly as I could to the gate (thankfully for my unfit self, the nearest one to Security). To my dismay, although the electronic board at the gate was saying Final Call, there was no member of staff there and the door was locked! When I finally saw a member of staff to speak to, she confirmed that the plane was gone and she would escort me back to the check in hall.

To get to the purpose of my post, my manager has asked me to look into whether we can submit a complaint to the airport and claim a refund for the price of the flights (I was due to return on the same day and there was no availability on the next outward flight) that I was unable to use, based on the service in Security being significantly under par. Has anyone any insights/ experience they can share please?

TIA

Michelle

eskbanker

I'm not aware of any obligation on airports to offer refunds in such circumstances but no harm in asking - do you actually know for sure that the security staffing was significantly below usual or are you just inferring that from the time taken to get through?

EasyJet say they close gates 30 minutes before departure so you'd have needed to reach the gate by 05:40 and might have cut it a bit fine, especially when many airports are particularly busy first thing in the morning?

la531983

Sorry but turning up to an airport at peak time 70 minutes before the flight off time was slightly asking for it, domestic flight or otherwise you still have to do all the same security as everyone else.

eskbanker

BFS FAQs recommend a minimum of two hours:

We generally advise passengers to arrive 2 hours prior departure however some airlines may advise you to arrive earlier than this

https://www.belfastairport.com/airport-guide/customer-services/frequently-asked-questions

and there were 15 flights between 05:50 and 07:05 yesterday morning, i.e. probably something like two thousand passengers in 75 minutes - there is obviously the argument that security staffing should reflect this peak but presumably OP's manager made it through OK?

heatherw_01

It is all down to the traveller to arrive on time.

You did not allow enough time at all.

flaneurs_lobster

You might well have used this flight before and found that you were early enough at just over an hour before the flight.

Every site I've looked at says to arrive at least two hours before the flight.

Anyone who uses a route frequently ( I commuted weekly by plane for 20 months) will push the arrival at airport time back as far as they can get away with. It's fine until the one time that 2 scanners break down simultaneously or the security staff are working to rule.

sheenas

I not quite sure what you mean. Was the flight 6.10 or was that when the gates close? I would allow at least 90mins before gates close. For sure it would be better if they provided estimates wait times.

la531983

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82114596#Comment_82114596

Easyjet flight 819 was scheduled for 0610.

Grumpy_chap

I was due to travel on a 0610 flight from BFS to LGW. I arrived at the airport before 0500

Unless the "before 05:00" means "04:01" it sounds like the OP was around an hour late arriving at the airport.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82114694#Comment_82114694

I'd say they were about 20 minutes late, judging by the timing of when they got to the date.

Jemma01

It sounds like a lost case, but you've got nothing to lose (but time) for trying!