To think that proposed charge for fast track through passport control is a bloody cheek

[eternalopt]

Story here

Travellers face £5 charge to get through passport control faster - the guardian
apple.news/AcllRgdcvRPmsiKgTktYtHA

So charges at every airport to get through passport control quickly - surely this means longer queues for everyone else who can't stump up the cash as the staff are elsewhere serving those rich enough to queue jump? Given that it's a public service that we already pay for through taxes etc, this feels really cheeky to me.

I can see both sides tbh. It does seem unfair to be charged for what should be a standard service for all. However after queueing for over an hour and a half upon return to Manchester two weeks ago I would happily pay if it meant getting through faster and therefore getting home earlier.

The queues were so long that I saw 2 children in different families wet themselves because there was no access to toilets before passport control. The overstretched staff then got shirty about having to clear up the mess and the parents were mortified but also furious.

After queuing for that long with no communication we arrived at the entrance to the passport control hall only to find that there were 2 separate queues all along (one for epassport booths and the other for manual checks)! At no point had any staff (in person or via announcement) let us know that we could have bypassed a large chunk of the queue. People were so cross at the situation that they were getting into fights and getting arrested!

Have to say wasn't any better when we arrived in France on the way out either. Queued for almost an hour there too.

More staff needed and if I had to pay £5 for that I think I would.

I see it like next day delivery. You either pay extra for priority delivery or save money and suck up the delay associated with standard delivery.

There are toilets before passport control at Gatwick so that's just shit design on the part of Manchester.

Has anyone really queued for "hours" to get through passport control?? Really??

We have flown with the kids from and into several large UK airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh) and have never waited in the passport queue for more than 20 minutes. Foreign airports are often a lot worse - Cancun was complete bedlam with 3 flights arriving at the same time and a very poor system for arriving passengers. Lisbon was very laid back and slow.

Whaaat??!!
And sillysongs so NOT the point. Not everyone travels for holidays and it is not the point anyway!!
What is next???

So instead of employing more people they do this so those that can afford it opt in and the rest as still screwed. They make money that they dont put into employing more people because now they dont want the slow queue to get faster.
So citizens are more and more out of pocket and the unemployment rate keeps going doooooooown.

But I guess some people are not bothered by this and this is how we will never get economy growth

Oh well

Agree with those saying this is a tax on families as adult groups already have a free fast track option.

5 of us waited an hour at Stansted recently because DD aged 7 was unable to use the automatic booth thingy. £25 might not be a lot in the scheme of things, but it is £25 that those without DC wouldn't need to pay.

PMSL @ "tax on families" talk about OTT.

We couldn't use the booths this summer as DD is under 12 so we just queued like most other people. Guess what - nobody died.

Soup. We were returning from the US, so everyone on our flight would have had chipped passports. Adults could fast track through the self service booths. Those with under 12s couldn't.

If a charge is brought in for fast track, Only those with DC would need to pay. You might PYSL. I happen to think it's unfair.

Ive waited longer for the automatic booths than people in the normal line have. Its not always faster.
Once chose the normal line and had a woman moaning at me that it was the "family line"
I don't agree with the fast track lines at all.

Yes this is our own country we are coming back to. We shouldn't have to pay extra not to queue for hours, just so we can get back into our own country.

Taken aback at the poster who has never been in passport control for more than 20 minutes. Yes I have queued for a very long time to get through passport control. And often the one for foreign nationals is ironically quicker.

If you go Business or First you can use the fast track for free

In contrast to the general tone of this thread, one of my happiest moments ever was at Gatwick Immigration after being stranded abroad for a week due to a stolen passport, spending the time racking up a huge hotel bill and jumping through endless bureaucratic hoops. When the Border Control officer took my emergency document and welcomed me back I could have kissed him! I would happily have queued all day!
I think the main problem with immigration, as shown by people's differing queuing times, is that the system has peaks and troughs and it would be unfeasibly expensive to employ the number of staff you would need to deal with the peaks (a bit like A & E). Get a few large aircraft landing at once and you're snookered.
Not sure why they don't employ more people to get you through security faster on the way out, though, as while you're standing in a queue you're not spending any money in their vastly overpriced airside shops and restaurants.