We go to the UK airport knowing that we can only have ONE cabin bag, we have a great holiday and on the return flight we clear Passport control and end up in the duty free shop, we buy load of stuff in as many bags as we can carry and by law we cannot be stopped to board our airplane
WHY WHY WHY

I totally sympathise. Airport and airline procedures drive me mad. Dont get me wrong, I agree with security but some of it is a farce. How can it be right that you have to cram all your worldly posessions into a tiny rucksack including your handbag which is quite difficult for women to avoid paying the large cabin bag fee.. Then you can buy and take on board shed loads and duty free at no extra cost. Something seems wrong here. I have often toyed with the idea of using duty free bags to carry my stuff onboard.

Further gripes are not providing seating after security to sit and put your shoes back on. How older people manage I do not know and if you you use their chair they get most upset. Last time I went through security a gentleman got upset with me because the plastic bag holding my liquids wasnt the regulation exact size ie not the pound a go bag out of their machine which he duly pointed out to me.

On a final point. We all get rid of our water bottles before going through security then buy it at extorionate prices on the other side. There is no rule about taking an empty bottle through so why dont they provide water points on the other side like at the olympics? I will leave you to draw your own conclusions! ::

Willowsend wrote

Quote :

we buy load of stuff in as many bags as we can carry and by law we cannot be stopped to board our airplane
WHY WHY WHY

Willowsend the answer is Money Money Money. The airport and the airlines make loads of it. It's big business and we as the customer have to pay

We have to like it or lump it. This is the attituide they have.

That cheap flight for 30 quid can often cost bucket loads more. It still works out cheaper than flying with BA but many of the charges are 'hidden' and you are not told until the very end. Big business gets away with this.

Rakiaplease wrote:

Willowsend wrote

Quote :

we buy load of stuff in as many bags as we can carry and by law we cannot be stopped to board our airplane
WHY WHY WHY

Willowsend the answer is Money Money Money.

Have to agree with Rakiaplease Money the root of all evil

Rakiaplease wrote:

That cheap flight for 30 quid can often cost bucket loads more. It still works out cheaper than flying with BA but many of the charges are 'hidden' and you are not told until the very end. Big business gets away with this.

Many of us have experienced this load of nonsense, it is time the government stepped in and regulated the way airlines and airports operated. Legal it all may be, but morally, they are all out of order!!

It is certainly farcical and not all to do with security - we all know that. However, I will not pay for a suitcase which is almost as much as the ticket and the way round this is to pack very few clothes in hand baggage and use a laundrette at destination. Its cheaper than the suitcase cost. I don't use speedy boarding because its not all its cracked up to be having tried it once and I dón't buy more than a coffee in the airport lounge. I must be one of the airports worst customers but not all of us can afford the airline and airports costs.

PS: I love beating the system too!

oldun wrote:

PS: I love beating the system too!

I don't think my OP was all that clear, I'll have another go at trying to explain.
If we can get on an airplane anywhere in the world having cleared passport control we can board with as many bags as we want, yet clearing passport control at any airport in the UK and having shops available for us to purchase prior to boarding we are confined to that ONE bag
By the way I see that Ryanair are now allowing two cabin bags free of charge, or am I seeing things

Quote :

Oldun wrote

It is certainly farcical and not all to do with security - we all know that.

This is so true. I have been flown with hand luggage and been stopped many times. A tube of toothpaste has been taken off me but my razors are always allowed on the plane. It seems I could use a razor to attack the plot with but not be able to brush his teeth :Swoon:

One other daft thing that happened to me a few months ago also prove's Oldun's point. I had a shot of a spirit in a small 100ml container which is allowed by law and put it in my 'see through bag' to go through Xray. I was told the alcohol content was to strong and it was taken off me. When I went to the duty free they were selling the same spirit in litre bottles ! What was that about ?

Willowsend. Just read your post. I traveled a few days ago with Ryan and they allow two bags (subject to size restrictions). The first 90 are allowed on to the plane and the rest are put in to the hold free !!!!!!!!!!!!

You couldn't make it up

We had to fly Ryanair as they seem to have collared the market at Stansted for Malta. I was amazed to see that besides one hand baggage case with size and weight restrictions another SMALL handbaggage such as a ladies handbage is now allowed!!!! Our hand baggage was not weighed or checked for size and no-one checked my small handbag so I presumed that a ladies bag could be any reasonable size! No you couldn't make it up. I also think that the restrictions on liquids is ridiculous. Why can't you buy chocs and alohol before the departure lounge where you are a captive and not allowed even a bottle of water so you have to pay horrendous amounts of money again in departure lounge. If that is not a rip off what is? Surely a terrorist could pop into the loo with a bottle of hooch and tamper with it???

If the weight of luggage is due to fuel saving why not charge a premium for anyone over a certain weight? I also would like to know how you can take surplus hold luggage on board, even if it means payment, because the check- in doesn't seem to allow this unless its for sport?

I was not impressed with Ryanair and would travel from Gatwick next time on Easyjet rather than fly with them. The plane was very old. The seats leatherette and therefore cold. Very limited leg room and short seat not allowing for full leg support. Not looking forward to the return journey and will have to use the hotel printer to print out the boarding card as Ryanair only allows this two weeks prior to flight.

Not usually a complainer but will hopefully, never use Ryanair again. Oh, and another thing, there is hardly anywhere to sit comfortably in Stansted for such early morning flights. The place was heaving!

On Willowsends OP - the bags in the so-called Duty Free shops (except of course for Europe) the bags are now see-through probably because some canny folk have been filling up the old bags with extra baggage??? Why else? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]