Guest Gollywobbler Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Hi all I took Mum to LHR T3 on Saturday for her flight back to Oz. The place is completely chaotic and I would advise anyone who has to use it to get there at least 5 (yes, five) hours before the scheduled time of departure. The Fire Exit doors were wide open and everyone was treating them as ordiary doors. The place was packed with people marked Security but none of them were watching any of the doors. A bomber with a rucksack full of explosives wouldn't even be noticed, let alone challeneged, so I don't know why they are making such a fuss about the planes. They could just blow up the buiding instead with no trouble at all. I didn't see a single policemen in the 3-4 hours I was there either. They have installed a small weighbridge in the floor or each check-in zone and they are making economy class passengers weigh their luggage before letting them join the queue. Singapore Airlines were being feociously strict about excess baggage on Saturday. I don't know whether that was because the flight was full or whether the airlines are all being strict about excess baggage as a way of discouraging passengers from taking too much. They are enfir#orcing the hand luggage restrictions very fiercely indeed. The bag can be quite llarge but it must not weight more than 7kg. If it does, passengers are being told to shift some of their stuff into their hold-luggage or the had luggage will have to go in the hold. Consequently there were people re-packing their luggage erywhere that there was a space and check-in is taking forever. Marshals were shouting at the queues of passengers that if they had two pieces of hand-luggage them must put one bag into the other. Downstairs at check-in was an absolute zoo but upstairs, Departures was worse. There was an almighty queue waiting to go through to the departure lounge via the first tier of security. The tannoy was bellowing at the passengers NOT to join this quueue until 2 hours before their scheduled departire time. I reckon it was taking wrll over an hour to get from the back to the front of this queue, and again there were marshals shouting at the passengers to put one bag inside the other if they had two. I got there 4 hours beforehand with Mum, and because she is disabled she does ot have to queue. They checked her in at the First Class desk to avoid inconvenience to anyone else, and they wheeled her straight through to Departiures without her joining the queue. Even so, though, we were clear of the check-in by 8.59 and they told me to take Mum back to Customer Services at 10.15 am so that they could take her to Departure. The flight was leaving at noon, so I reckon it is taking a long time once the passengers disappear behind the screens. It is minumentally boring for little oes, having to stand around in these queues, aad I'm suprised that none of them were screaming. They are opening the check-ins FOUR hours before Departure now, so if you get there 5 hours beforehand, you should be at the front of the check-in queue. They've built a new carpark for T3 which is miles worse than the old one. Instead of a bridge to Departiures, you have to go down to the ground level to get into Departures without fighting yout way through Arrivals first. They have invested in Supa-Slo lifts which take ages to come and are usually headed the opposite way from the way you want to go, plus they are not very big so they only hold about 12 people with luggage. I do not envy anyone who is facing a trip through that dump and those queues. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fraser Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Yup, I agree... If you have a chice, fly out of Gatwick or Manchester..or even Glasgow (Emirates) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil Olsen Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Interestingly, KLM fly out of Cardiff and that is how I send my kids to see the family Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest austibeach Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Heathrow in general is a disgrace. It is without doubt the worse airport we have ever been through in all our extensive travels around the world. On our last return from Australia via Singapore, we were never checked, our passports were never shown, we ambled along with all the rest of the passengers and finally arrived in a grubby area were there was a second rate coffee shop, which was outside the arrivals area. We and several other Brit passengers were so angered about the lack of security that we all vowed to write to our MP's.......unfortunately we never did. The foreigners among us looked around in amazement and laughed at the ineptness of British security. It was 5.30 a.m. but surely our security should be a 24 hour arrangement. See, you've started me off ranting and raving now......lol ! I sincerely hope it has improved on our next visit. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Hi Eric Well - the second rate coffee shop is still there, outside the grubby Arrivals area as you say. We had 'breakfast' in it. The lack of knives with which to butter the croissants was irrelevant because this joint wasn't offering butter. £7.50 for 2 small coffees and 3 croissants minus butter was an absolute rip off, I thought. The disabled loo reeked of urine. God knows when they last washed the floor in it, but it has not been done recently to judge from the stench. The slow queue for Departures snakes right through the middle of Arrivals and beyond into the tumel that leads to the new car-park. £13.50 to park for four hours and 10 minutes. The Fast Track section for Departures looked closed, since I didn't see anyone using it (though the porters told me once that that can be slower than the ordinary route into Departures anyway. I don't know whether they are taking First Class passengers via the VIP lounges. I would have a severe sense of humour failure if I paid a fortune for a ticket and then got heded around in the queues for hours with a load of security people shouting at me and a tannoy howling at me from overhead. But the mot shocking thing of the lot is that they are obsessed with protecting the planes, yet they don't seem to think that there is any need to protect the building. The Department of Transport is in charge of this shambles, I gather. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IanL Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 I don't find T4 too bad. But the last 2 flights have seen us land at T2 and T3, and have to agree, they look like a cobbled together large garden shed. Last year's trip (my wife's first to UK), we were met with a grumpy customs official the like of which I'd only experienced in Oz before. This years trip we were met with a much happier guy, but you have to question security. My wife was enetring on a Settlement Visa for the first time and he said "oh you have to be subjected to a full medical on these visas, I'll see if the doctor is in" Now we weren't told this before we left but were ready to roll with it. the the guy looked behind at a door, saw that it was shut and said "I don't think he's in. Look I'm sure you're ok coming from Oz" And waved us on our way :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Missiemo Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Hi Eric Well - the second rate coffee shop is still there, outside the grubby Arrivals area as you say. We had 'breakfast' in it. The lack of knives with which to butter the croissants was irrelevant because this joint wasn't offering butter. £7.50 for 2 small coffees and 3 croissants minus butter was an absolute rip off, I thought. The disabled loo reeked of urine. God knows when they last washed the floor in it, but it has not been done recently to judge from the stench. The slow queue for Departures snakes right through the middle of Arrivals and beyond into the tumel that leads to the new car-park. £13.50 to park for four hours and 10 minutes. The Fast Track section for Departures looked closed, since I didn't see anyone using it (though the porters told me once that that can be slower than the ordinary route into Departures anyway. I don't know whether they are taking First Class passengers via the VIP lounges. I would have a severe sense of humour failure if I paid a fortune for a ticket and then got heded around in the queues for hours with a load of security people shouting at me and a tannoy howling at me from overhead. But the mot shocking thing of the lot is that they are obsessed with protecting the planes, yet they don't seem to think that there is any need to protect the building. The Department of Transport is in charge of this shambles, I gather. Cheers Gill Hi Gill How are you? I am in complete agreement, it was horrendous when we got there, and when we checked in our suitcases, the bloke behind the counter was so rude and horrible I got quite upset, he threw our passports back at us and mumbled somethng about our swap flight when I said pardon I got shouted at and told to move on, very pleasent, if they don't like the job then why do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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