Late checking in, but Aurigny attitude upsets
I HAVE, in the past, always been a great supporter of Aurigny, having always found them courteous, helpful and accommodating. On one memorable occasion, when checking in for a Dinard flight, I realised that our 'chaffeuse' friend had driven off with a bag containing my passport; the staff of Aurigny could not have been more understanding and even delayed the flight by 20 minutes until the missing item was traced and returned. Contrast that with my experience on Wednesday last. I had planned a business visit to Alderney and had booked a seat on the 11.30 flight and left home in what I considered good time to check in by 11am.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen diversions and a couple of circuits around an overcrowded car park, I arrived at the check-in desk four minutes late.
I was not unduly concerned because I had hand luggage only, and after giving me a polite reprimand, the young lady on the desk handed me a boarding card and notified the departure staff of my arrival.
I immediately headed for security and was in the process of placing my effects on the conveyor when an Aurigny departure staff member arrived and after identifying me advised me, in the presence of security staff and other passengers, not to go to the trouble of going through the security check as I was not to be allowed to board the aircraft – and on being asked for what reason all he could come up with was 'company policy'.
It was then 11.10, still 20 minutes before flight time (I have subsequently learned, to my astonishment, that in fact the flight was delayed for 30 minutes) but despite my protestations I had no alternative other than to rearrange my trip to the next day, causing great inconvenience not only to myself but also to my Alderney clients.
So there we are, it appears that it is Aurigny 'company policy' to issue boarding cards to latecomers and then publicly humiliate them by treating them like naughty children who are late for school and need to be taught a lesson.
Conversely, it was a treat on Thursday evening to check in for my return flight from Alderney Airport to be greeted by the familiar, smiling Aurigny staff, for whom nothing is too much trouble and be reminded of 'our once lovable airline', as a recent correspondent described it. By the way, what has happened to the Guernsey familiar smiling faces?
RODNEY COLLENETTE,
Vale Pond House,
Vale.
Editor's footnote:
A spokesman for Aurigny responds: Thank you for allowing us to respond to this letter.
As an airline, we always try to advise our passengers to allow plenty of time to check in for their travels.
On the Guernsey to Alderney service we operate a policy where passenger must check in at least 30 minutes before the flight is due to leave. All our check-in/bag drop policies are in place as part of our continued efforts to avoid delays and any knock-on impact on the rest of the flying programme.
Unfortunately, in this case the passenger had arrived at the airport after the flight had already closed. Attempts were made to get them onto the flight, but ultimately it was too late. We are sorry if any upset was caused.
We did make efforts to help the passenger and rebook them onto a flight the following day.
With all flights, there must be a cut-off point for check-in, and this is common practice across the industry. This is to avoid causing disruption to the other travelling passengers.
