Well with this week being capped with waits, the Heathrow arrivals experience continues to be less than optimal.
That’s missing the point – It’s an omnishambles.
I flew in today aboard Finnair AY1337 from Helsinki after a great flight with a good crew. Our aircraft arrived at Heathrow, taxied and turned to Terminal 3 – that was at 16:48. It was looking like we would hit the chocks on time at 17:05.
Let’s hope @HeathrowAirport can allocate us a gate quickly. pic.twitter.com/2mC2uFfIaU
— Kevin – Economy Class & Beyond (@EconomyBeyond) July 17, 2022
Except the Heathrow gods were not in the mood for it. We were directed to a waiting area and had the joy of a 40-minute wait for a gate to be allocated to us – as the previous aircraft had not vacated the gate.
and it’s time to wait.
It seemed the airport was scrambling to find something for us. But it got to the point where the pilot chose to turn off the seatbelt signs and let passengers move around the cabin and go to the small room if needed for 15 minutes of that time.
That’s a first for me.
Around 17:24, we were released from our penalty spot and taxied off to a gate.
Eventually, we were released to a gate a little early, to the point that the American Airlines flight that was preparing to depart was pushing back as we began passing it – as that was the gate we were going to be sent to.
Why do I get the feeling that that was in our gate? pic.twitter.com/s6nok4DHrq
— Kevin – Economy Class & Beyond (@EconomyBeyond) July 17, 2022
Lo and behold. It was.
With the American Airlines Boeing 777 pushing back and reversed out, our Airbus A330 finally had a home to go to.
Of course, there was a good 10-minute wait for the jetbridge to be attached, as the crews were not expecting us. by 17:42, we had finally gotten off the aircraft – the best part of 56 minutes to wait for a spot to park
From there, it was time to head into the terminal, only to be greeted with this sight when approaching the UK Border.
I do NOT know what went on for people to be held up to enter the immigration haul, but it took another five minutes to clear that hot mess. Combined with the walking and such, we’re heading into an hour since the aircraft touched down and I was nowhere entering the country.
Eventually, we were let through and into the tensabarrier maze that is immigration. With me also knowing the state of my passport and that the chip is dead (and I have no intention to replace the passport until I have to), I queued up in the “Rejects” lane at the UK Border.
Again – it was another 10 minutes to get seen for that privilege.
Knowing that Heathrow is a hot mess, I had the foresight to not check any luggage – my patience was starting to wear a little thin at that point. I made my way out of the luggage haul, through customs (which seemed pretty busy that night) and finally into the public area.
I dread to think how long I would have had to wait for luggage too.
It was 18:09 by the time I got into the public area.
1 hour and 21 minutes from landing to ground side- Pathetic.
Except, this isn’t the first time this year. It’s the third time this year that I’ve gone through these pains at the national hub of aviation, which still struggles to offer the basic service of getting aircraft into gates on time, managing the handling agents and airlines, and enabling to dispatch of the aircraft off the premises.
Except this is the third time this year I’ve run into issues – with my inbound from Chicago and Hamburg too.
Blaming the pandemic is a tired excuse.
Time to be nasty – the airline industry cut hard when the pandemic hit. It gave them the chance to cut costs, routes and the perceived “flab” it had, to cut costs to try to survive.
But what’s the term… When you trim a bush too hard, it can be hard for it to grow back.
And this is what the industry did.
Whilst there is a case to be argued for sector-specific support, the cuts have now come back to haunt each and everyone in the industry – from handlers, ground agents, border security, airlines and even Heathrow Airport.
And whilst they’ve been ramping up, others have realised that life in the airport isn’t for them anymore – which will require the one thing that the aviation industry hates doing – spending money on their staffing.
Do better
Helsinki Airport was paradise – with organised queues and even organised transfers for people who had missed flights due to Heathrow’s inefficiencies.
And if you think this cap that’s being brought in is going to save Heathrow Airport – all I’ll say is this. Try me in three weeks and we’ll see if I’m on the train again writing an editorial like this.
There are no more excuses for Heathrow, UK Border, Airline handling agents and Airlines. A precious cap has been set allowing everyone to try and work within a limit set. I’ll have to see if this makes a difference.
But again – no more excuses.
Do better Heathrow Airport.
Editors Note. The times are pretty accurate, as I was taking pictures the entire time with my iPhone, with the date/time stamps in BST. If anyone at Heathrow wants to reach out about the passenger experience, you know the address by now.
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