Fantastic Tony, much appreciated!

Pippy

Pippy, Like I promised, I spoke with the Manageress at Boots, Departures, South Terminal about all Toiletries including all Sun Applications. I was told by her there is plenty at Airside and it is cheaper there because of the No Tax to Pay. When I said I was going to put her statement on Holiday Truths, she actually said Thank You and gave me a bottle of Water. The Plastic bag Saga. You are NOT charged at Gatwick, there are masses of people in Yellow shirts with "Can I Help" all over the place giving bags, I even got some for my family and myself for my forthcoming trip. Horrendous delays at least 2 Hours at Security because of people just ignoring the signs and over sizes Hand Luggage. this in South. At the North Terminal about an hours delay because of same reason. Hand luggage was not being weighed by First Choice, but if it did not fit the Cage, you had to go and get another one and rejoin queue for booking in. Was I pleased I was not travelling today. Hope this answers a few queries. Tonyt

Tony,
What time were you there in South terminal as two hours queuing for security sounds a total nightmare?! We are flying out in exactly 4 weeks time (Thurs. 23/08) and scheduled to depart at 13:55 so we may have to allow more than the stated 3 hours for checkin etc!

Cheers,
Jet

I was there between 11.30 and 15.30, have to be there again next Thursday, will keep an eye on things. Like I said the bulk of the Delays are by people trying to beat the system. Yes us Brits going on Holiday. Tonyt

Tony,
Thanks for the info (even though it was not what I wanted to hear!) and for any updates going forward. In my honest opinion, nobody should be able to claim ignorance of the new security rules as regards prohibited items and volumes of liquids nor of the hand baggage size restrictions. Security should simply remove these individuals from the queues and force them to dump/repack etc in a different area and then let them rejoin the queue at the back. I am sure that it is the arguing and "discussion" that causes the delays.

Cheers,
Jet

Tony, thank you for taking the time to ask on my behalf

Pippy

Jetnoise,
the point you make is relevant and is the major cause of long queues, despite the 10ft signs around the airport and yellow t-shirt clad helpers asking EVERYONE about "liquids" as they approach central search there are still too many claiming ignorance and thinking that they are able to have discussion about the rights and wrongs of the regulations. Some have difficulty in ascertaining what exactly a liquid is, as they think that water is "just water" and not a liquid many are getting upset over losing expensive make-up and perfume.
In a bid to stop the arguing/discussion scenario a zero tolerance stance is now being taken , in that if the liquid allowance is NOT PRESENTED in a plastic bag it will be confiscated as a prohibited item.

There is hope for the future people generally now don't pack scissors or sharp items , corkscrews etc in hand luggage , a couple of years ago these were very common items that were confiscated, so it seems that people have to experience "losing" items a few times before the penny drops

Any forum members flying out from Gatwick tomorrow? If you see me come and say 'Hi'!
We're flying from the North terminal, FCA328 to Sharm and will be there from about 10am. I'll be wearing a Muse t-shirt and my luggage will of course be wearing the Holiday Truths luggage labels!

Pippy

I am going from south terminal on fri, flight time 945am, am hoping it won't be too bad, we went out from there 8 weeks ago and it took about 20 mins to get through which was not too bad really, alot of people take the wrong stuff, my son had packed a can of hairspray so they just took it off him, its no big deal when its not an expensive item.
Has anyone flown at that time on a fri? Just wondered how busy it will be, we have booked the servisair lounge again as there are 7 in our party and just hate the seating, or lack of it.

Lou

x

If you get dropped off at North Terminal, FCA Check in is immediately in front of you. If you are using Monorail from South Terminal when you get to North Term use escalator to the left and at the top turn left 50 yards on right is book in. Cheers Tonyt.

Gatwick was an absolute nightmare for us this year. We flew with thomsons and they were checking in 5 different flights at the same zone (zone H) and they only had 4 desks open. It took us over two hous just to check in. Going through security was a piece of cake, - about 5 minutes. Security was easier as we queued up so long checking in, the 'can I help' people were coming round making sure that we knew our hand luggage restrictions and handing out the plastic bags to those who didn't have them.
Getting into the airport takes a lot longer now as everyone gets dropped off at the lower level.
If you are flying from Gatwick I would suggest getting there atleast 3 - 3 1/2 hours before your flight time.
On return it took us 2 hours to reclaim baggage and get through passport control. Then a further 2 hours to get home (usually 40 minutes) due to road works on the M25.
Still it didn't spoil a brilliant holiday
Mick.

We are taking my mother to Gatwick (North Terminal) on Wednesday 15 August.

Normally we can do the journey from our home in Suffolk in approx 2 hours using the M25 and the QE2 crossing. However I know that there are roadworks on the M25 - are these likely to cause us a problem? We pan to leave here about 3pm to get her to the airport for 5pm - her flight departs 9.15pm.

We haven't been that way since May so would appreciate any up to date info.

Pippa

cab be some horrendous hold ups just over the bridge up to nearly J4 [orpington] for road works,, speed averaging camera's along the whole stretch

wizard

We flew from Gatwick on Monday 30th July.

Walked into the North terminal and straight to the FCA check-in desk! No queue at all! From walking into the departures hall to walking away from check-in took about ten minutes, amazing!

Also, no queues at passport control or for the security checks. I've never had such a stress-free departure from Gatwick!

Pippy

Pippy, good to hear you had a smooth exit from Gatwick, i think the press and media over-exagerate some of the problems, with Heathrow getting a slating at the moment, but at this moment Gatwick is putting about 90000 passengers through in its busiest day , 49000 south and 39000 north last saturday, it all depends on everyone co-operating and no unexpected problems arising.

Mick, the main problem with multi-flight check-in is that its possible that a lot of people in front of you could be departing on a later timed flight and have got there earlier as they have allowed extra time for roadworks, extra security checks etc and haven't actually been delayed. its a catch 22 as you allow more time but end up checking in too early and then have a longer wait in the departure lounge that is congested with people in the same situation. I think that some multi check-ins now have check-in available on flights to a certain time so that the queues don't get too long and to make a smoother continous flow through the airport. But also this time of year there are so many more flights laid on by the charters so the check-in area is over congested, its a grim wait but at least theres a holiday at the end.

Hi

Flying out from South Teminal on Thursday. Thomson's website says that their check in desks at Gatwick open 4 hours before the flight. We are thinking of getting to the airport 3 - 3 1/2 hours before, so that we can get through check in and security and the relax and have a bite to eat.

Can anyone confirm that they really do start check ins that early?

Going from North terminal in a few weeks and want to buy my shampoo & conditioner at the airport to keep my baggage allowance low as possible! Do boots or any other similar shop have a wide range?!

And also does anyone know if the world duty free shop have a MAC cosmetics counter?

Thanks for any help x

Hi

Flying with XL out of Gatwick 12th Jan '08

Looking at parking with Parking express at the South Terminal, which is on airport parking.

Two questions, anybody used these before and are they ok?

Which terminal does XL fly out of for its Carabean flights?

Thanks....

PS- Driving from Manchester

We have used Parking express many times now with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Just remember to make a note of which bus stop you get on as you will have no doubt forgotten this by the time you come back. As far as I'm aware xl use south terminal for all their flights.

Have a lovely time.

Deb.