Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Stansted Airport - a warning!
I travelled from Stansted to Ireland last week and the experience was pretty terrible, partly thanks to Ryanair (I know, I know..) but also due to the fancy redesign of the airport. After queuing for 45 minutes to get through security, passengers are now channelled directly through the duty free shop in a narrow winding 'river', grind to a halt crowded into a small space where there is a flight display board, and then have to continue through a further meandering channel of shops until finally arriving in a waiting area which seems to have been stripped of most seats. If you then want to return to the shops, having deposited your family/bags etc somewhere, you have to fight your way back 'upstream'.
There probably isn't time to sit down anyway as by now you are having to run to your gate, which is as before, miles away down endless corridors or even at the end of a monorail shuttle.
Whoever designed this as a way of coping with vastly increased passenger numbers needs their head examining. It took me every minute of two and a half hours to get from arrival at the airport to the gate, just managing to grab a coffee en route, let alone stop and browse in the shops. Several people who had allowed the recommended two hours almost missed the flight. (I was forewarned, having flown to Greece in June, but without the additional long queues for Ryanair baggage drop - also at least 45 minutes.)
Coming home, I flew from Shannon in Ireland - immediate check-in, no security queue to speak of, pleasant waiting area. Then a rather long boring tube ride home from Heathrow, although much cheaper than Stansted Express - all in all I think that is the preferred route for me from now on.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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They want to expand City Airport. It was told it couldn't but is appealing and trying again. Local MP there, Stephen Timms, says it should be allowed to expand to bring jobs and wealth to Newham… (where have I heard that before?)
Boris has managed to find half a million £s to help prevent the expansion of City Airport. Where did he find that money? He's also fighting expansion of H'row…. with some public funding I believe. Anyone laying bets on Boris Island resurfacing?
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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If you haven't seen London City airport, you can now visit inside (and walk on to BA's New York flight!) on Google Street View, courtesy of a certain photographer I know - www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11896816/British-Airways-allo...
https://goo.gl/maps/T7rxX77PzQu
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Permalink Reply by Philip on
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Having just returned from holiday I couldn't agree more. Stansted used to be my favourite airport, but the recent redevelopment simply created a circular shopping parade of tat that passengers are forced to walk through. A bugbear of mine is that there are no drinking fountains and the taps in the loos only deliver hot water! There used to be a drinking fountain(permanently disabled) I wrote to them complaining and was told there were many drinking fountains with a diagram showing where they were, but any attempts to find them failed. Airport staff confirmed their absence. Upon arrival from abroad, however, the first thing you come across is....a drinking fountain! Of course there are no shops there! Another bugbear is that you can't bring your own drinking water into departures! Many Jeremy Corbyn can add this to his to do list!
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I totally agree. I used Stansted recently to fly to Cork and was appalled by the changes being made. It felt like I was being herded through the departure area. So sad as the when the airport was designed the whole ethos was that it would be a 'seamless' experience of arriving at the airport and boarding the aircraft in a straight uncluttered line.
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Well Maureen,it just so happens that from Oct 1st there will be 3 flights a day to Cork from City Airport and after doing a random date check and comparison with fares on Ryanair to Cork from Stansted, in many cases there is not much difference price wise. Worth considering if you are a regular flyer to Cork.
BTW, I have no connection with City Airport,just a punter who thinks good news should be shared!
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Isn't there a fantastic deal on Virgin Trains as far as Dublin? I think it's less than £40 as long as you book all the way there but £90 if you're just going to Holyhead.
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I thankfully haven't had quite such a bad an experience as Maddy on the way through Stansted but on the way back the new exit just baffles me...why are we dumped outside right at the bottom of the airport? Fine in Summer - not so much fun in winter and then most of us just have to go back inside the building anyway to get the train.
However, the new layout to the shopping hall (?) just ensures I don't buy anything as I want to get past the vast crowds of slow moving folks and get some room...it is very cramped there now and just a horrible experience overall so I'm usually sitting waiting at the gate for over an hour as it's quieter there.
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We flew Ryanair from Stansted to Barcelona earlier in August, a morning flight on the busiest Saturday in the summer season (apparently). Having heard about the potential delays we allowed extra time. It was a breeze with barely any queues anywhere. Guess you can never really predict it, just prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
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I also hate these new arrangements. Forced to go through all those shops. I used to like little old Stansted but not anymore.
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Just avoid this airport. I also avoid Luton returns late on Sundays after once arriving there late in the evening on an Sleazyjet flight, alonf with several other flights to find that there were only TWO immigration desks open! I told myself NEVER AGAIN and avoid that place like the plague if I can help it even when the price of the flight is cheaper!
If enough people did this then things would change as we have seen with the way that Ryanair has tried to change "it's we don't care you get what you pay for" attitude? Unfortunately for them I refuse to fly with them. Especially after reading articles where you learn that ey load minimum amounts of fuel, make staff work long shifts and encourage pilots to take risks all in the name of cost savings. They can keep their airline!
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