Airport queues must keep on moving
IF YOU were ever concerned about airport security queues… prepare to be worried again this summer.
Months of disruption are expected as an upgrade of the hand luggage security area is due to start today. The memories of arriving late at the airport and jumping on to the end of the queue for an Aurigny Trislander to Jersey are long gone, as even an inter-island flight sees the same level of security as a transatlantic crossing, and almost with a check-in time to match.
Nobody is able to dispute the need for upgrading at the airport. Aviation security is simply part of life nowadays, and upgrades are inevitable.
Apparently we can expect these latest developments to be a positive. An automated tray return system, with larger trays to carry more items, a shoe scanner and no need to remove footwear, all sound like benefits. Whether TV screens installed inside and outside the security area to advise passengers on what they need to do are really needed is another matter.
With the numbers flying in and out of the island expected to boom this summer after two pandemic-impacted years, it hardly feels like the best time to be carrying out the work. Guernsey Ports said it couldn’t act any sooner – we’re not clear if it could have delayed until after the peak season.
Anyway, the work is starting and Guernsey Airport has warned passengers to expect longer queue times.
Repeating warnings and urging people to get to the airport earlier can help, but alone it’s not enough. People will respond, but then they will be inevitably frustrated if an earlier check-in does them no favours in making their flight.
Somebody needs to take a stake in queue management too, recognise the bottlenecks and act accordingly. Many will have turned up on time and then experienced that nagging angst of the ticking clock and no movement in the queue, while staff look on seemingly powerless to intervene to move people through in a more orderly way, to keep things moving on the tarmac.
If it’s going to be a busy summer, let’s not have Guernsey picking up the kind of reputation for security delays which some airports repeatedly suffer from.