To think airports are so stressful lately?

[Kjones27]

Jesus , I used to like travelling. I just find the airport so stressful now, that I'm utterly exhausted by the time I get anywhere. I have british and irish paaaports. I fly on my irish passport which is supposedly slightly easier to fly to the eu is. In my experience, it is not. I still experience standing around in queues for ages.

I feel like they make it as stressful as possible for everyone.

I recently flew from Dublin to Spain.

I didn't have a bag to check in as that would have taken me even longer. So my first queue was the security queue. I was standing in the long security queue for about 30 mins. Put my carry-on bag through. It set off some alarm. Or maybe they were testing bags randomly. I had to wait for a guy to come over empty my bag , put everything back in. Then I went on.

I sat in the departure lounge for about an hour. Then I went to get on the flight. They let everyone go through the desk, then for some reason they made us all stand on the stairs before rhe flight for another 40 mins. Plane was slightly delayed taking off.

I get to spain. We wete made to stand in another queue to show passports here at the spanish airport. This was an extremely long queue, as there were only about four men dealing with hundreds of people from different flights. I stood in this queue for about an hour. Finally got out. And i was just so tired.

Another thing. The last time that I flew from Spain back to Ireland, a Spanish female security officer asked to pat me down.

I said yes, as I'm sure most people do, as we afraid something worse will happen if we say no.

She then patted me all over. Up and down. She patted me In between my thighs.
She then patted both of my breasts. Which I wasn't expecting. She didnt pay between them or under them. She specifically patted each breast. I would say she slightly cupped them.
I really felt violated. I looked online to see if security officers are allowed to pat you there. And it says airport security officers are allowed to touch you anywhere for security reasons. So you are leaving yourself open to be groped just by taking a flight. I just think some security officers take advantage of their ability to touch others though. There are a lot of stories online of women who say they were molested by female security officers.

All in all, its a very stressful experience.

Why would anyone want to deliberately make it stressful? I appreciate they aren't fun, but would assume more staff would make it more expensive.

I guess if they didn't pat you down everywhere then that would be a security risk wouldn't it? Hope the trip was worth it.

I think I should have been informed/asked before she patted me on my breasts.

I expect long waits when I fly so I don't get stressed - it's just how it is

As for security - I imagine a bra is a useful place to hide shit - and you where asked and agreed to be patted down

They don't deliberately make it stressful.

But they don't do anything to make it easy for passengers. They don't seem to be concerned for people's welfare at all.

The amount of long queues they expect us to stand in now is not sustainable for a lot of people. Especially not for the elderly.

My mum in her 70s would like to go to spain, but she won't go as she says getting through the airport will be way too hard for her.

They make people stand in packed queues for way too long.

I agreed to be patted down, as i thought she would just pat down non sensitive areas. Eg arms and legs.

I've been patted down twice before in the UK. Those women only patted my arms and legs.

I think it should be explained, and that consent should be got from women , before a security officer touches their breasts/vagina.

If I had known she would do that I never would have agreed to it.

Would you like a security officer to cup your breasts?

And also I don't think anyone really "agrees" to be patted down put of genuine agreement.

People say yes out of fear, when four angry security guards are looking at you, as you are worried that somethingworse will happen to you if you don't agree.

That you might miss your flight, and be taken for interrogation, or worse, be thrown into a cell.

Its the price of safety sadly, after so many threats and attacks. A bit of standing around is tiring but ive learned to live with it. I must admit though, i was surprised when a female security guard put her hands down the front of my trousers in a sweeping motion on a flight back from Amsterdam a few years ago. I can see why rich people use private jets!

It's not all airports, just flew from Heathrow and it was stress free, no queues (except at pret because their coffee machines were broken!)

But, would you want to get on a flight with passengers who had been able to opt out of security checks? I think there's a good reason for checks.

I think you are being a little over dramatic. You could have declined a pat down and asked what other options there were, you certainly wouldn't have been thrown in a cell, would you?

Thrown in a cell 🤣 c'mon OP you've been watching too much Banged Up Abroad.

Couldn’t agree more op. We’re staying in the UK this year because I can’t stand it.

Victim blaming much?

As I said already I had been patted down before , by two different women , and they had respectfully only touched my arms and legs.

That's what I thought I was agreeing to .

Had I known she would feel my breasts, I never would have agreed to it.

I looked it up later when I got home as I felt strange about it. And it did say on some website that if a security officer touches sensitive parts of the body, they are meant to use the back of their hands.

She used the front of her hands on my breasts.

Oh it's so stressful isn't it. They don't seem to think of people's wellbeing in the airports at all. I've seen people look fit to collapse at times.

Manchester Airport is an absolute hell hole these days, bad enough in terminals 1 and 2 but terminal 3 is probably the worst airport I've ever suffered, and I've been through lots of airports in places like Africa and Egypt where facilities are non existent. What I can never understand is why staff in overseas airports are so much more helpful and friendly, yet those at Manchester seem to love being obstructive, ignorant and generally arrogant for no real reasons. Having to suffer Manchester is one of the reasons I have no real desire to go abroad ever again - whenever I start thinking about it, I remember Manchester and soon decide not to bother.

Staff at overseas airports so much more helpful and friendly?!
Not in my experience whatsoever!

I can’t believe you think the security woman touched you up infront of hundreds of people. She’s just doing her job. She has to check around the bra to make sure nothing is concealed.

What do you think happens if you decline a patdown. That they just say "oh that's fine" walk on.

Really?

I have good friends in the USA. They fly a lot , they told me that if they refuse a patdown , they are simply not allowed on the flight.

They said that one of their colleagues said no to a patdown and he was kept in a holding cell area for hours.

They "ask" you, but if you say no, you are not allowed on the flight.

This is why we go by Eurostar or ferry. I don’t mind planes but absolutely hate airports. Luton was the worst. The queue for passport control was an absolute joke. Luckily a member of staff saw my elderly mother was about to keel over so we got fast tracked through a avoiding hours of queuing.

They’re not victim blaming - you’re just being massively dramatic if you genuinely think that’s what they’re doing.

I was once ‘patted down’ by a female security officer and it was tantamount to being molested. She felt under my bra, through my clothes and put her hand down the back of my trousers. I told her to stop. Her manager was called and I was offered another check by someone else. I put in a complaint by email but got nowhere. I have never experienced anything like it before or since. I was with my 3 kids and they were watching this, I totally understand your experience OP.

I feel exactly the same op. I adore travelling, investigating, booking flights, being in the airport, the whole lot.

I've had very similar experiences to you, on all of my flights for the last few years. Such a shame, ruins it a bit.

Yeah, you do feel a bit like cattle with the queues.

Really?

Do a quick Google search. There are HUNDREDS of women online, saying that they were molested by female security guards at airports. Do you think they are all lying.

After it happened to me , I read other stories online. One woman said that the female guard didn't even pat her arms or legs.

She said that the guard went straight so squeeze her boobs and bum and then felt and groped her vagina. She said she felt used like a sexual object.

If there is only one job that exists where you are allowed to touch anybody in every sexual part of their body.

, do you not think that job is going to attract sexual predators?

I completely agree with this, I avoid Manchester whenever possible.

Victim blaming - awa bile yer heid min.