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Not really the solution, eh?

The chaos has prompted Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, to call for the Army to step in to relieve pressure on airport security.

Still, a bit more publicity for the loudmouth there….

18 thoughts on “Not really the solution, eh?”

  2. Bloke in Cyprus

    This is the latest from my man at Gatwick just Yesterday…

    Gatwick? Well, you don’t need me to tell you that it is an utter shistshow, as I predicted, and unlike previous years, there is really no light at the end of the tunnel.

    My baggage boys are slaughtering themselves doing 8 straight 13 hour shifts, having 1 day off, then doing the same again. Most of these boys live on the South Coast, so at least 16 hours per day. Plus £400 in fuel each month. Double time is now paid for overtime and I’m seeing them paying £1,500 in tax per month, which is excellent – it pays for more pedestrian crossings to be painted in rainbow colours.

    There are not enough staff ANYWHERE in the airport. No-one wants to work at an airport any more. From the total hassle of getting an airside pass, to the the staff car park being in another County, to having to go through Security every day, to getting up up 00:30 for a 03:00 start, abuse from rightly pissed-off passengers and petty internal squabbling it os no wonder that many have chosen not to return.

    I’m back in tomorrow morning – and like all my colleagues/friends I will do my utmost. But it still won’t be enough.

    I have, however, bought 50 custard doughnuts for them all. And doughnuts help.

    He did predict all this way back at the beginning of the year…

  3. JuliaM

    Perhaps they should provide the aircraft too? It’d be a hell of an improvement in timekeeping, comfort and inflight catering…

  4. bloke in spain

    I read that subhead yesterday & just presumed he wanted his check-in queues machined gunned. They’ve suffered every other indignity so didn’t seem unlikely.

    Why do people use Ryan Air? I never have. If I wanted to be treated like shit EasyJet does a fair job. But people turn up down here bitterly complaining about Ryan Air service. But, they say, it’s cheap. These are the same people who use the money saved by flying RA in one round of drinks.
    Of course if I’m forced to travel north, I usually drive. Cost more. Takes a bit longer. But anything to avoid airlines & airports. Did you know the architectural plans for Gatwick show seating in that area outside the departure hall. The one you might be waiting in for several hours when they’ve fucked up again. I think I vaguely remember them. They took them out. Says all you need to know about airports.

  6. Jimmers

    Currently in departures at Birmingham Airport. V. quiet and security was deserted. Easier then before covid.

  7. Bloke on M4

    Bloke in Spain,

    The thing with airports and flying now is all the crap outside the flight. Like we’re planning a trip to France by ferry and it’s £400 + 7 hours drive and you think that flight would be faster/cheaper but that’s going to be 6 hours if everything goes well with check-in time and journeys and transfers. Then it’s £200 to park for a fortnight in Gatwick, so the £300 of flights becomes £500. And then we don’t have to hire a car.

  8. John Galt

    Of course some of those couldn’t do the jobs BiC refers to, but it does look like we’ve got a serious misalignment of benefits.

    Not so much misalignment of benefits as misalignment of wages. Jobs that need to be done don’t pay enough of a differential once the costs of getting and being at work are taken into consideration.

    Sure, benefits might be a fraction of paid work income, but you no longer have travel expenditure, lunch expenditure (all out of tax paid income), spend 8hrs + overtime on the job and then get hit by a big whack of Income tax, Employees NI and the invisible effects of Employers NI (which is mainly incidental on the workers), then Council Tax and Rent (which benefit recipients get paid).

    The list goes on. In fact it’s surprising that anybody bothers to work at all anymore given the disincentives to do so.

  9. bloke in spain

    @BoM4
    Why would anyone fly to France? From London, Dover’s about the same time as Gatwick. One doesn’t need to get there 2 hours early for security. By the time the plane takes off you can already be 150 kilometres into France.

  10. Jussi

    I did fly to Nice a few times with Easy Jet, it was OK, had no problems. I’ve once been on a Ryanair flight, from Lappeenranta to “Brussels” ie. Charleroi. I was the only non-russkie on that flight. Again, no problems except the fellow passengers. I noticed that russians didn’t have very good manners, hoarding arm rests etc. To be fair, I don’t think Ukrainians would be much more polite.

  12. Chris MIller

    Why do people use Ryan Air?

    I used them when I had a gig in Aarhus – they used to have the only direct flight from the UK. The flights were on time and always cost £22 each way, but the taxi at each end was £100 – I wasn’t paying :). No cabin service, but I can do without on a 90 minute hop.

  15. Chris MIller

    I did have a bunch of Micks tarmac my drive at my previous abode. It’s still in good condition 30 years later. But I may well have just been lucky.

  17. Addolff

    BiS, the only thing worse than being talked about in the newspapers is not being talked about in the newspapers………….

    + There’s no such thing as bad publicity….

  18. Southerner

    It worked for Jannie Smuts, bringing in the army when the natives got a bit restless. Against this must be balanced the health and safety aspects, trauma counselling for the soldier who has to shoot some unruly passenger who complains that standing in the at ease position for four hours is doing his dodgy hip absolutely no good, design and issue of special uniforms because camo isn’t going to work is it…

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