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Post by Airbus A346 on Nov 20, 2019 19:58:27 GMT 1
EasyJet and LJLA are holding an investigation after a passenger boards the wrong plane
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Post by vanguard on Nov 20, 2019 20:53:53 GMT 1
A pax.got on the wrong flt.but the pax.got through security screening,bag check and maybe checked with the wand,all ok. The pax.goes to the dep. gate which he or she thinks is the right gate,it's now up to the Pax.Service Agents to check the boarding pass,that's where it all went wrong,some one or maybe more people weren't doing their jobs properly,sounds like some more training is needed quickly. đ
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Post by Airbus A346 on Nov 20, 2019 20:58:25 GMT 1
A pax.got on the wrong flt.but the pax.got through security screening,bag check and maybe checked with the wand,all ok. The pax.goes to the dep. gate which he or she thinks is the right gate,it's now up to the Pax.Service Agents to check the boarding pass,that's where it all went wrong,some one or maybe more people weren't doing their jobs properly,sounds like some more training is needed quickly. đ Agree with you - sloppy gate staff.
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Post by viscount on Nov 20, 2019 22:10:10 GMT 1
Maybe, but once out in the 'shelter tubes' then onto the Apron there is considerable scope for a passenger to lose sight of their 'procession' and race to join the nearest passengers in sight, so boards the wrong aeroplane. When two neighbouring planes are being boarded at a time, there is considerable scope an individual to become confused and head for the wrong aircraft. While there are Handling Agents out on the Apron, passengers to distant stands get very strung out, the one at the back stops to check their papers are not going to blow away, looks up, sees other passengers and joins them. Human nature, if uncertain, follow the nearest leader.
So we shouldn't be too quick to cast the blame the Gate Service Agents checking boarding passes - the passenger could well have left the correct Boarding Gate - but then got 'separated' and followed the nearest passengers - who had actually been released from a different gate for another aeroplane. Aprons are confusing and noisy places. I'm amazed it doesn't happen more often at apron level boarding airports - more difficult when bused and I would hope impossible on an air-bridge from departure gate. I can remember a time when boarding passes were shown on entry to the aircraft, but as this slowed entry off the steps, the practise seems to have disappeared in the name of fast turn-around. Maybe because, in my recent experience, at the departure gate, the boarding pass is scanned and presumably an incorrect bar code reading would alert the Service Agent that the wrong gate is being used?
Agreed if the passengers had by-passed security search-comb a very serious situation; to me this though is a matter of a passenger who got confused in a noisy, windy, stressful and indeed alien environment out on the apron. Storm-in-a-tea-cup time.
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Post by vanguard on Nov 21, 2019 16:16:12 GMT 1
Brian i can't agree with your comment for these reasons. No1...Stands 51-52-53 on the Tango apron are all metal eyesores from where the pax come out striaght to the aircraft with i prosume PSA's at the gate checking boarding passes. No2...Stand 1 is directly out of the building onto the stand & aircraft. No3...Stand 2 witch the named airline use every now and again (this is also a metal eyesore),the aircraft on this stand is about 10yrds from the exit. No4...Any aircraft parked on remote stands ie:53-55-56 plus remote stands on the main apron,pax are bused to the aircraft. All that said,How does a pax get on the wrong aircraft?,he or she must have been at the wrong gate to start with.From all these stands there's no cross over or shouldn't be any cross over of dep.pax..
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Post by LPL on Nov 21, 2019 17:03:43 GMT 1
The two aircraft looked to have used stands 55 and 56.
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Post by harbourcotter on Nov 21, 2019 17:16:32 GMT 1
I'm sure this happens from time to time at most airports. Lessons will be learned. A few years ago I was at London City awaiting my LPL flight on VLM and the departure board was showing 2 VLM flights leaving from the same gate, my flight to LPL and the other to another destination (I forgot where). The other flight was leaving, I think, 5 minutes before ours. I mentioned to gate staff that this was bound to cause confusion and could they hold back the passengers for one flight. I was told that due to a lack of gates and a full airport that 'this happens on occasion' and was told basically to wind my neck in. Needless to say confusion reigned and we had FIVE pax on our flight who shouldn't have been. By the time they got it resolved, both flights were delayed. I never read anything in the press about it though.
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Post by viscount on Nov 21, 2019 18:00:17 GMT 1
Until now nothing had been mentioned about which stands, or even which apron was involved. All I know is that when I used to use Ryanair fairly regularly to Dublin for the day, there could be two lots of passengers very close to together in the 'shelter tubes' along towards the former Post Office building. On one occasion, as first passengers out after a delay at the Lounge Gate upstairs, I, along with a group of passenger totally overshot the turn out to our aircraft, until sent back by an Agent waiting for passengers by another aircraft - it is on that experience I base my comments.
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Post by ronturner on Nov 21, 2019 18:52:29 GMT 1
I am reminded of a time when I was on the balcony at Speke, when there was some commotion on the apron. A lady who thought she was travelling from Heathrow to Paris, found herself disembarking from a Starways flight at Liverpool. There was no Facebook in those days and it seems the matter was resolved with some patience and good humour.
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Post by vanguard on Nov 21, 2019 19:16:01 GMT 1
If the aircraft were on stands 55 & 56 they would have used two different buses to get to the aircraft. Regards Ryanair and other airlines using the main apron a cross over is quite possible with in the pax tunnel,as you said Brian it was only the keen eyed agent that stopped it,that tunnel is another thing that needs to be looked at,you freeze in the winter and roast in the summer,aswell as walking through a river when it rains whatever season it is
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Post by michelnstarr on Nov 21, 2019 19:51:13 GMT 1
When I was much younger my mother and I got on the wrong Cambrian Viscount at LPL. We were supposed to be travelling to the IOM but boarded the Jersey flight by mistake. The error was only realised because there were no spare seats on board. We rapidly disembarked and got on the right aircraft.
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Post by jake3 on Nov 21, 2019 20:35:00 GMT 1
As someone who has worked at lpl this is not an unsual occurrence but most definitely not a regular issue. Their are a number of reasons as to why this happened and covered in the posts above.
People do seem to have a loss of common sense when at an airport and fail to follow instructions given to them or read either the departure boards and or their tickets. This whole issue has been blown out of all proportion by social media and some elements of the press. Security did their job at the search area and after that they (pax) become the resposabilty of the handling agents.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 20:57:18 GMT 1
harbourcotter is right - it happens all too frequently, herd mentality we used to call it. But imagine this: in my days of handling Jet2 at Manchester, we had one such case. As luck would have it, the Venice and Alicante flights were parked on adjacent stands. Not a problem in itself, but some may remember that a few of the the 737-300s had the names of Jet2's destinations painted under the flight deck. Well, you're probably ahead of me by now and you'd be right. By one of those quirks of fate, the aircraft with Venice painted on it was going to Alicante and vice versa. These being early morning flights, the crowd going to Alicante, mostly stag and hen parties, had spent more than an hour or two in the bar and having spotted the word 'Alicante' on the aircraft, a few of them started to make a beeline for it. The Venice passengers, mainly older people heading for a cruise connection, were far more alert and realised the problem. This was the point at which I became involved, following a phone call to the office. I immediately stopped the boarding process and asked Jet2 (who had their own passenger service agents at the gate), to call for more staff to make sure that people were being directed properly. I then went on the Venice aircraft, spoke to the No.1 and asked her to make an announcement that this was NOT the flight to Alicante. The cabin crew eventually persuaded most of them to leave, but one of the group said to me, "It's got Alicante on the front, y'know," To which I replied, "It's got India on the tyres, but it's not going to Bombay." Both flights picked up 20 minute delays, but at least they weren't attributed to the handling agent.
On a more serious note, from the images I saw, it looks as though the passengers were wandering around on the apron unsupervised, which is a total no-no. I imagine there will be deep post-flight review on those flights.
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Post by viscount on Nov 21, 2019 22:43:06 GMT 1
On an e-mail from someone reading this thread, I am reminded of the days at Liverpool Airport (the old terminal) when security was less formal and the whole boarding experience a more relaxed and pleasant experience. Then the principal method of getting passengers to the departure gate was by the public address announcement, however staff did find one particular pair of destinations quite confusing with passengers, Dalaman and the Isle of Man calls being greeted by "Was that announcement for us?"
I'm also reminded of the time during a period of Manchester strike, so quite probably 1969 or 1970, when, so the story goes, there were two Britannia Airways Boeing 737s parked on the ramp at Palma. Passengers for Manchester, diverting to Liverpool loaded on one, passengers for Bristol loaded on the other, doors shut and the Captains made their announcement. On both aircraft the passengers were quickly calling to the cabin staff that the Captain had made a mistake. A quick conference between the Captain's and Luton HQ and the two planes swopped flight numbers and off they trundled, the aircraft to the wrong airport, the passengers to the right destination. Job sorted with little delay. All this came to light, as when the luggage compartments were opened.. yes, you've guessed it was to the wrong luggage, so the two aircraft positioned across to where they should have been with just a hold full of baggage and a lot of passengers thankful to be reunited with their bags after an hour or so delay.
I forget now the airline or the destination involved, suspect it was a Heathrow to Manchester Shuttle. The Captain came on with the welcome, stating the flight was to XXXXX. The passengers started telling the Cabin Crew the Pilot was wrong, they were going to YYYYY. Shortly after the Captain came back on. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Co-Pilot informs me that the aeroplane is going to YYYYY. He clearly knows what he is doing, so he will be flying this morning."
Embarrassing at the time, but in hind sight quite amusing. Today no doubt instant damming news of sheer incompetence rather than a joke in bar afterwards as to how the professionally the situation was solved with little fuss.
Mind you on a more serious note I recall in August 1978 joining a Middle East to Heathrow Super VC-10 at Dusseldorf (BA202). This was at a time of Middle East hi-jack tension and crew could not get the head count to match the total of transit passengers plus the new load. We sat there for over one and half hours with three different sweeps through the cabin looking at boarding passes and tickets. Never knew the real outcome, but eventually the crew announced they were happy and we pushed back for my only VC-10 flight, which arrived at Heathrow with no further incident.
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Post by jetdragon on Nov 21, 2019 23:09:24 GMT 1
I forget now the airline or the destination involved, suspect it was a Heathrow to Manchester Shuttle. The Captain came on with the welcome, stating the flight was to XXXXX. The passengers started telling the Cabin Crew the Pilot was wrong, they were going to YYYYY. Shortly after the Captain came back on. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Co-Pilot informs me that the aeroplane is going to YYYYY. He clearly knows what he is doing, so he will be flying this morning." Same thing happened to us on one of our trips down to Oz. Qantas out of LHR the Captain does his "welcome aboard" spiel, giving details of our "flight down to Singapore tonight"....pause " erm that's Bangkok tonight - sorry folks" much mirth in the cabin
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