interestrateripoff Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3783641/A-fiver-come-home-UK-airport-charge-passengers-skip-lengthy-queues-passport-control.html Every British airport will introduce a new premium service for passengers Tourists will have to pay at least £5 to get their passport checked quicker The new move has been described as being 'ridiculous' by the PCS union Every airport in the UK will begin charging passengers at least £5 to skip lengthy queues at passport control. It was revealed last month that Edinburgh Airport was planning on introducing the fee in a bid to cut long queues during busy periods. But there are now plans for the new scheme to be used by every British airport - a move which has been described as 'ridiculous'. It could mean that those who do not fork out the £5 for the premium service could wait even longer in the regular queue as staff are diverted to the new section, reports The Sunday People. Having recently come back off holiday and waited all of 3 minutes to get through passport control I really can't see why I would pay a £5, I can only assume they will now create queues to get people to pay the £5 which will naturally start to go up. Why don't we charge foreign nationals to get through passport control? Slap a £10 entry fee on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Another consequence of the extreme congestion - as well as outright greed. Paying through the nose for something that was free when the country was run half reasonably. It'll be a bit like the old First Class/Second Class days with those new charges. Oh they really never went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funn3r Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3783641/A-fiver-come-home-UK-airport-charge-passengers-skip-lengthy-queues-passport-control.html Having recently come back off holiday and waited all of 3 minutes to get through passport control I really can't see why I would pay a £5, I can only assume they will now create queues to get people to pay the £5 which will naturally start to go up. Why don't we charge foreign nationals to get through passport control? Slap a £10 entry fee on it? The queue length varies wildly. I too have had the 3-minute experience but earlier this week it was just the opposite - arrival hall completely full and helpers organising people into an overflow queue down a corridor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARTINX9 Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 What you do notice is how busy and overcrowded UK airports are compared to almost anywhere else in Europe or abroad. Heathrow and particularly Stansted are terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I always use the ePassport gates at Gatwick. I suppose they'll disappear, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Why don't we charge foreign nationals to get through passport control? Slap a £10 entry fee on it? Because we have visa-free travel arrangements with most developed countries. People who need visas already do pay to enter the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leggers Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 If you've checked in luggage, I don't get why anyone is in any particular hurry to get through passport control, as you then just move the waiting place to the luggage belt area whilst it's all unloaded. How often do you get through passport control and not have to wait for your luggage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I wonder how they came up with the £5 figure? A passport inspector is probably paid close to NMW, say they average 30 passports an hour, that's 25p per passport. So what's the other £4.75? Rent-seeking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RentingForever Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 If you've checked in luggage, I don't get why anyone is in any particular hurry to get through passport control, as you then just move the waiting place to the luggage belt area whilst it's all unloaded. How often do you get through passport control and not have to wait for your luggage? Quite. I feel the same about the mad rush and impatience of people getting off planes. Worse is the rush to board. We're all going to take off at the same time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I have waited for about 10-15 minutes before. Didn't see the problem, not like I am flying about every day. I am not wealthier enough to pay a fiver for 10minutes saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Presumably it's potentially 2 x £5 = £10. If you're British then £5 OUT and £5 back IN - and still a total of £10 if you're flying in from overseas and then flying back out. Or British outward only? It says it's for tourists so do business people get away scot free again. It all gets crazier by the day. People could get 200 pounds worth of housing mortgage for that amount of airport fees - have they thought of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funn3r Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I have waited for about 10-15 minutes before. Didn't see the problem, not like I am flying about every day. I am not wealthier enough to pay a fiver for 10minutes saved. I never have checked bags - it costs more and in most circumstances I don't need it. A family of four going to Florida needs a big bag but not my business trip to Frankfurt or weekend in Alicante. Also if you have booked a taxi to get home from airport the guy will charge you for his parking and it's not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Do you have to pay in advance, or can you pay in cash once you've seen how busy it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The XYY Man Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Will anyone who took the tenner to go to Australia deal in the sixties have to pay fifteen to get back in then...? XYY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 What's the betting the £5 queues will be longer than the no payment queues - odds on I'd say. Apart from the sheer numbers wanting the "quick" route it'll be people fumbling for their credit cards, ooh it's the missus' card by mistake, did you bring your card dear I forgot mine, what's the pin number again try this one, not valid then try this other card if I can find it, ok no problems hold on there's some change in a pocket somewhere. We're short staffed today of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 What you do notice is how busy and overcrowded UK airports are compared to almost anywhere else in Europe or abroad. Heathrow and particularly Stansted are terrible. Have you not been to America? I dread Atlanta but have little choice about using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgul Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I have waited for about 10-15 minutes before. Didn't see the problem, not like I am flying about every day. I am not wealthier enough to pay a fiver for 10minutes saved. Well, they'll just have to increase the time saved until you are wealthier enough to pay the fiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Flights are too cheap anyway - that's why so many fly mulitple times a year. Oh yer and it causes global warming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Don't think I've ever had a queue so bad on getting out of the airport that I'd want to pay to avoid it (but then I don't suffer from the chronic imaptience that seems to infect most people). Get through passport control even with a long queue and there always seems to be a wait for the luggage anyway. A few years ago I was flying to France regularly, usually from Liverpool. The security queues got longer and longer, they had a "pay to go faster" thing in place, which not many people bothered with. Eventually they put more people on the non-pay machines and the queues dropped. I can only assume that the complaints from the shops and so on on the airside of security (people not having time to use them after the queuing) got too big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snafu Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Id pay 5 quid. After a long flight or long time away (work mainly) i'd pay 20 quid ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgul Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Have you not been to America? I dread Atlanta but have little choice about using it. But the USA problems are (mainly) for foreigners - this is about queues for UK nationals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 ....would appeal to the speedy boarding brigade......let them pay, helps keep down the price for the rest....no rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 If it's fine to pay for accelerated access to public services, then presumably you'll soon be able to pay to see your GP quicker or jump the queue for surgery on the NHS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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