No OLCI

Not sure if anyone has posted elsewhere but I've just tried OLCI for VS7 tomorrow and a message comes up saying OLCI suspended until further notice.

I guess we'll be at T3 a little earlier than planned but at least we're going PE so the queues might not be too bad. I hope[ii]

Miopyk

[Neil]

Thought that this would be the case, makes sense I guess

But as I understand it Twilight Check In at LGW is being encouraged.

Originally posted by Monkey
But as I understand it Twilight Check In at LGW is being encouraged.

Airlines need to see passengers face to face to ensure that all cabin baggage is heading for the hold.

VS are using twilight check-in to try and take the pressure off the check-in lines during the mornings. The more people that can be checked in at night means shorter queues for when the bulk turn up the following day.

I thought that part of the advice being given to travellers was to use OLCI as much as possible!

[Neil]

Originally posted by catsilversword
I thought that part of the advice being given to travellers was to use OLCI as much as possible!

Where did you hear that Claire? There is nothing on the VS site about using OLCI, it does not seem to make sense to push it at this time, as Tallprawn has said, airlines will be wanting to see paz face to face for during this time I imagine.

It was in an email that I got from VS this morning:

"Virgin Atlantic intends to operate all flights as planned on the 10th and 11th August 2006, although long delays are expected. Airport Check in' s will open 4 hours before the scheduled departure time. We urge all our passengers to check-in on line or by using airport kiosks where installed. Passengers booked to depart on flights from London Gatwick tomorrow, are encouraged to use our Twilight check-in service, which will be open at Zone A, South Terminal, until 21:00 this evening. Once checked in we urge all passengers to go straight to security in order for the searches and other security screenings to be completed."

Seemed odd to me at the time to urge people to do online checkin when they obviously have to visit a desk.

[Neil]

How very strange, maybe a policy change overnight?

Originally posted by miopyk
Not sure if anyone has posted elsewhere but I've just tried OLCI for VS7 tomorrow and a message comes up saying OLCI suspended until further notice.

BA seems to have removed the OLCI option too. I have been unable to use online check in for a flight I have tonight from Gatwick.

Cheers, Howard

Originally posted by Howard Long

Originally posted by miopyk
Not sure if anyone has posted elsewhere but I've just tried OLCI for VS7 tomorrow and a message comes up saying OLCI suspended until further notice.

BA seems to have removed the OLCI option too. I have been unable to use online check in for a flight I have tonight from Gatwick.
Cheers, Howard

Also no self service check in at the airport, no fast bag drop, no premium check-in,Iestimate 2 hours queuing to check in (already done one hour) at Gatwick North BA European departures. If this continues I will not be flying anywhere near as often
in future. BA staff from everywhere doing queue marshalling - even Cargo. Combing queue for imminent flights. Sad to see many check in points closed. Then there's the central security to negotiate.
Cheers Howard

Good luck tonight Howard, think our JFK trip may well be binned doesn't look like travel is going to be much fun.

Originally posted by jaguarpig
Good luck tonight Howard, think our JFK trip may well be binned doesn't look like travel is going to be much fun.

Thanks JP.

Well it took two hours to do check in, then another hour to clear central security. There was no point in manning any more check in desks because it would all have ended up in a mess a security.

ONLY FIVE OUT OF NINE SECURITY SCANNING STATIONS OPEN!!!! PUULEASE!

Everyone gets a hand search.

Loads of queue jumping, plus several people who felt they could join the queue without waiting like I had got told in no uncertain terms to b*gger off back to the end.

My suggestion - arrive half an hour before and get to jump all the queues. Maybe then, and only then, will they open up the scanning stations.

Cheers, Howard

[preiffer]

Everyone getting a hand search might explain why ony 5/9 stations were open, Howard (they MIGHT just need a few extra staff on each one... )

Hi Paul

Originally posted by preiffer
Everyone getting a hand search might explain why ony 5/9 stations were open, Howard (they MIGHT just need a few extra staff on each one... )

I'd love to think this were true, but I don't believe so.

As an onlooker of security screening at airports (I hope to be on mastermind one day and this will be my specialist subject ), I took quite a bit of notice on this occasion.

There were four staffers per station. One to look at the telly, one to recycle the trays and do bag searches, and one male and one female hand-patter.

I believe that usually the tray recycling and the bag search is done by two different people but as there's very little bag searching to do now, it's just the one.

No, I believe that BAA simply does not invest sufficiently in security staffing. Once they see that the retail revenue is a tiny fraction of what it was (everyone was so late getting airside today they had no time to shop) they will have no choice.

The staff on the ground were all very good, both BA and BAA. Plenty of folks to ask questions and make sure you're in the right queue (I nearly wasn't, but then I guess I just did the British thing and simply joined the first queue I saw!).

There is no doubt in my mind that the weak link in the whole thing was the lack of staffing at the central security checkpoint.

Cheers, Howard