To think there must be a special qualification in grumpiness for airport staff?

[poorchurchmouse]

My brother died last week. Had to fly north to be with my family as he managed to pick the weekend when there were no trains in or out of King’s Cross. Everyone in both airports has been so grumpy ( and they don’t even have the same rules- phone stayed in my bag on the way north, they want it in a tray at security on the way south. Shoes on heading north, off going south. Eye-rolling and huffing because I didn’t instantly know they want different things.)

I’m feeling extra fragile so it’s getting to me more than it normally would, but I don’t want to be here in the first place, I’ve spent the last few days supporting my DM and doing death admin, and it’s so bloody miserable when everyone clearly regards the passengers as a hateful inconvenience.

Nothing new and happened pre covid, so you can't blame it on stress etc due to covid.

Manchester airport has been a hellish nightmare for many years. Long queues as standard. Grumpy eye rolling arrogant security staff as standard. If they see something in your bag xray, they deliberately make you wait to punish you, even if the staff aren't doing a "search" your bag stays there in the "naughty" area until they think you've stood there long enough.

Last time we went, the queues for security went right back into the check in area. It took an hour to even get into the actual security area. There were around 6 conveyors/xrays but only 2 or 3 were in use. Lots of security staff stood around doing nothing. Lots of others being unnecessarily shouty/arrogant.

I've been through dozens of airports, Manchester is by far the worst.

I agree that the different requirements are confusing and I'm someone who always tries to follow all the signs/notices and I've still got it wrong on occasions. My favourite UK airport is Liverpool. They still seem to manage to carry out the serious task of security with a smile and good old scouse humour, proving that grumpiness doesn't have to be part of the job.

@BlatantlyNameChanged

Was it Newcastle Airport? If so, they're all under threat of redundancy again after job losses last year further job losses have been announced. They also get endless shit from many passengers (not necessarily you) about green/amber/red, testing rules, passengers detail forms, covid rules within the airport, and so on. I'm very sorry for your loss but can you see why they might be feeling a bit demoralised right now?

Why is it that airport staff are given the benefit of the doubt, but the passengers, who are travelling under very difficult circumstances, are dismissed as causing ‘endless shit’?

Still, at least you weren’t completely insensitive towards the OP, who has lost her brother. I’m sure your sympathetic words meant a lot.

I didn't say the OP was causing endless shit, I said many passengers are and also said that it wasn't the OP. The amount of people kicking off at staff over covid rules and getting needlessly aggressive and nasty is really high right now, staff are demoralised because of it, and this translates to poor levels of staff engagement with all passengers not just the ones kicking off.

According to this article from the Independent you flew between two of the best airports in the country! I travel between Stansted and Belfast International quite a lot, two of the worst according to this list. I've never had any real issues at Stansted but at Belfast International they have been so rude. I remember getting my bag searched, they flung my stuff everywhere, an eyeliner pencil rolled away across the floor and when I asked them to pick it up, the sigh and filthy look!

I was a bit surprised, as I’ve never had unpleasant treatment at any UK airport. Quite the opposite - I have seen helpful staff going down the security queues moving people to the front if their flights were due imminent departure, and I had a wonderful check in man when my inbound flight was hours late at Gatwick, who got me onto the last shuttle to Edinburgh an hour after its gate should have closed.
He saved me being stranded at LGW overnight with two small children. I asked if I could marry him, and the check in lady at the next desk joined in the joke - they were all so friendly and kind.
I have also been stuck with an expensive 200ml bottle of designer perfume that I forgot to put in my hold baggage. The security lady, instead of confiscating it, directed me to where I could buy a padded envelope and suggested I post it to my home address. She even told me where the airport post box was.

I don’t think it’s an easy job, and I’ve never flown via Newcastle, but most airport staff I’ve met have been nitpicky grumpy jobsworths who seemed to delight in having me throw away perfume or medication.

I remember once - at Luton maybe? - being held up because some medication which by any reckoning wasn’t liquid, wasn’t in a plastic bag. They had plastic bags for sale at little machines, but they needed exact coins only. I only had a £10 note. I asked the staff and other passengers to help, no luck. £45 of medication went down the bin and the staff member smirked at me. I always carried every variety of exact change after… only to find that literally every other airport from Nova Scotia to Auckland to Tokyo gave those sealable bags out for free in abundance. Just why? Why make something like this more difficult for everyone?

Sorry for your loss op.

@BlatantlyNameChanged

Was it Newcastle Airport? If so, they're all under threat of redundancy again after job losses last year further job losses have been announced. They also get endless shit from many passengers (not necessarily you) about green/amber/red, testing rules, passengers detail forms, covid rules within the airport, and so on. I'm very sorry for your loss but can you see why they might be feeling a bit demoralised right now?

Many staff in jobs and business are under threat of losing their jobs at the moment. I get frequent abuse in my job and no payrise this year. I’m not taking it out on the customers.

Sorry, that was written in a rush. My point is, everyone’s had a tough year.

Hairdressers, restaurants, people in the entertainment industry are also under constant threat of losing their jobs but wouldn’t get away with treating customers in such a fashion.

They are delightful at Doncaster. At other airports I have seen them barking at people and being grumpy. However they are people and I have generally found if you greet them with a smile (harder with a mask) and a cheery Morning / Afternoon, then they are usually OK. I had to stand in the naughty corner once as I forgot some cherries and they set the scanner off (god knows why). The guy was curt but not rude and he was fine when I talked to him like a normal person. I do always feel guilty at security though for no reason!

Op - sorry for your loss. The above are general observations and not directed at you.

Manchester is the worst... where possible we leave from Liverpool even though it’s further away

My DD has been randomly checked twice, aged about 4 and 6 and both times they have been hideous. Barking at her and me to stand in certain positions. I get that it’s random and they need to check but surely you can be nice to a shy 4 your old. It gave her a real fear of flying but thankfully last time we flew (pre Covid) we went via terminal 5 at Heathrow where everyone was smiley and nice and it’s restored her trust.

My blasted passport photo had to be without my glasses - fine - so I have to take them off to go through the screening, trouble is I can't see what the screen is saying or when its finished
Hahahaha this is one of my pet peeves too!

OP, sending you a very un-MN hug.

Obviously there are shocking stories in this thread and the lack of consistency is so bloody frustrating. Not dismissing any of that but honestly “other people” at airports drive me insane and I could never work there as I’d probably murder someone after less than a day.

@Dogmatix34

My DD has been randomly checked twice, aged about 4 and 6 and both times they have been hideous. Barking at her and me to stand in certain positions. I get that it’s random and they need to check but surely you can be nice to a shy 4 your old. It gave her a real fear of flying but thankfully last time we flew (pre Covid) we went via terminal 5 at Heathrow where everyone was smiley and nice and it’s restored her trust.

I had this with my son when he was 6 at palma airport they were shouting at him and he burst into tears I find the security at that airport absolutely awful they shout at everything and come across as pissed off at you all the time even when you are following the rules

treating people so they vow to get the train next time if humanly possible won’t help! This exactly. I don't want anyone to lose their job, and I feel for people working under threat of redundancy (I've been there, I know it's shite), but there is such a thing as doing your job decently.

And this Why is it that airport staff are given the benefit of the doubt, but the passengers, who are travelling under very difficult circumstances, are dismissed as causing ‘endless shit’? No one knows exactly what anyone else is having to deal with. We all need to act with just a bit of common civility to each other, and that doesn't exclude airport staff.

@WeIcomeToGilead

Manchester is the worst... where possible we leave from Liverpool even though it’s further away

Likewise. Gave up on Manchester a few years ago. Truly horrid place staffed by truly horrid people. I travel further and go either to Liverpool or Leeds - yes it restricts the destinations slightly but the airport experience is far better. Such a shame that Jet2 stopped using Blackpool, we had a few years when we'd only fly from Blackpool and chose destinations based on where Jet2 flew to from there. We were devastated when they stopped.

@TokyoSushi

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I used to work at an airport, on check in, many years ago. I have never experienced abuse or just general difficulty/unpleasantness like it. Passengers are stressed/rude/other and it really brings out the very worst in people. In addition to that, airports operate on ridiculous hours, most shifts start between 2 & 4am, it's like there is no time in there, so you'll get an email saying that there's a staff meeting, it's at 3:30am and you're all expected to be there. So in essence, people are massively rude to you and you're permanently exhausted, it's a hard job!

I'm sure that's the case. BUT, it doesn't give airport staff an excuse to be rude/arrogant towards passengers who aren't behaving badly. Because that just perpetuates it. Passengers who've already suffered abusive/arrogant staff at an earlier point in the airport and are now stressed & anxious, perhaps they've been delayed and are now short of time, are far more likely to be rude/obnoxious to the next jobsworth they come across who is being unhelpful for the sake of it.

@TheDoctorDances

Sorry, that was written in a rush. My point is, everyone’s had a tough year.

Hairdressers, restaurants, people in the entertainment industry are also under constant threat of losing their jobs but wouldn’t get away with treating customers in such a fashion.

That's the crux of the matter. Same with rude NHS staff. They know they can get away with treating customers badly so there's no incentive for them not to. Completely different in the private sector, retail, hospitality etc where customers have choice and can veto businesses that give poor service.

@romdowa

It's crazy how each airport varies. Birmingham Airport is actually my idea of hell. They insist you use their plastic clear bags , no idea why and then the security staff are really unkind. I've a physical disability and they were incredibly nasty when I took a while to remove and put on my shoes. Told me I should have worn different shoes and then they lost my walking stick. This was pre pandemic and I'd travel hundreds of miles by train just to avoid there. I flew out of Newquay on Friday just gone and they were honestly so lovely and friendly.

Birmingham is awful for buggies and wheelchairs , they have very specific rules you're meant to just know. You have to queue up at the barrier and try to catch someone's eye to let them know you're waiting. Do not try to communicate with them , you'll get told off for not being patient, but they will show no sign they have seen you or issue any instructions. So you just have to stand like a lemon until they deign to open the gate at which point they will look at you in disgust because you forgot to remove some small tied on toy from the buggy while you wrestled the baby and waited for them. Wheelchair wise we can manage it through the airport but we don't bother anymore, if you get the OCS staff to push it they are lovely and they don't get treated like dirt at security so the whole thing goes better if you're with them.

As I said in a PP, I have always found British airport staff to be helpful and pleasant.
If you really want industrial grade nastiness, try a few airports abroad.
I had security staff at a Turkish airport pull guns on me when I came sprinting through the doors desperate to reach the toilets before my explosive diarrhoea erupted after an hour on a transfer coach with a Turkish stomach bug!
Thankfully, they must have realised where I was headed as they burst out laughing and reholstered their weapons.

@mumwon

My blasted passport photo had to be without my glasses - fine - so I have to take them off to go through the screening, trouble is I can't see what the screen is saying or when its finished ... not the same but I was told I had to do this (you have to be there to imagine this, it was like a skit, I am seriously short sighted!) & yes my dh is always "randomly" picked at passport control so he is never around to help (he is Asian) My sympathy for your loss op

You sure it has nothing to do with past or current activities? I.e. no criminal record etc or prior history with immigration or customs

The worst air stewards ive come across on several flights are British Airways - Rude, arrogant and up themselves.

Whereas every other airline has been great - Emirites, SL, AirCanada, even RyanAir (cheap and cheerfull).

I'm so sorry about your brother op

Manchester airport is just full of people yelling at passengers and destroying luggage. Place is a frigging nightmare.

Airports are one of those weird limbic places that aren't really anywhere geographically or legally so what happens in them is up to those in charge. Some take the opportunity to make it into a pleasant environment. Some take the opportunity to fill it with power crazed shouty bastards and construct their own dystopia. I've found it completely varies from airport to airport even in countries that are pretty small like the UK. Eg Manchester and Leeds are not physically far apart but the experience is like the difference between night and day.

Sorry for your loss and for your experience OP.

Attitude at East Midlands airport put me off flying for years. Perhaps they are undercover climate change activists.

I refuse to spend hundreds of pounds to be treated like shit.

FWIW I used to be a prison officer, do I'm no stranger to unsociable working hours, working public holidays or security procedures with difficult customers. Being rude and unpleasant is neither helpful nor excusable.