Helsinki-Vantaa traffic jams|A representative of the airport company Finavia estimates that the congestion may continue until the end of September. HS asked what caused the difficult situation and what could be done about it.
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Passengers have been delayed at Helsinki-Vantaa airport due to security check jams.
Finnair’s communications director Päivyt Tallqvist says that customers can lose their tickets if they are late due to traffic jams.
Finavia has increased the number of security inspectors, but congestion continues, especially in the mornings and afternoons.
The new liquid rules have caused surprises, and Finavia is working to correct the situation by the end of September.
Multi the passenger has missed his flight to Helsinki-Vantaa airport due to traffic jams at the security check.
For example, on Wednesday morning, a few dozen Finnair customers did not make it to their flights on time, says the company’s director of communications Days Tallqvist.
According to him, the starting point is that the customer will lose his ticket if he is late for the flight due to queues at the security check.
“The customer has to make sure that he is at the airport on time. Unfortunately, the planes’ ability to wait for passengers is limited.”
At worst, I had to queue for hours at the security check at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on Wednesday. Many security checkpoints were closed during rush hour.
to Helsinki-Vantaa the departure hall was very congested on Wednesday and you had to wait in line for up to a couple of hours for the security check. There have been queues on other days as well.
In this exceptional situation, Finnair has on a case-by-case basis rerouted passengers to the next flights for an additional fee, says Tallqvist.
“This is certainly a frustrating situation. We encourage you to come to the field on time and reserve enough time, especially during the morning and afternoon rush hours.”
The biggest traffic jams have been in the mornings between 6 and 8 and in the afternoons between 3 and 6 p.m.
According to Tallqvist, Finnair has sent messages to its customers about possible queues and reminded them of the changes in the liquid rules.
At the beginning of September, an EU regulation came into force, according to which liquids transported in hand luggage must be in packages of no more than 100 milliliters.
Change there is not a big difference to the former, as the maximum allowed total amount of liquids transported in hand luggage is the same as before. So you can only bring two liters of liquids per passenger.
Liquids also do not need to be removed from hand luggage during the security check and they do not need to be in resealable plastic bags.
Manager responsible for Finavia’s passenger services Hanna Hämäläinen says that efforts have been made to prepare for the situation by increasing the number of security inspectors.
How many lines were open on Wednesday?
“We had eight to nine lines open during rush hour. We have observed discussion that only two lines would have been open. That is not true.”
The photo sent by a HS reader shows that most of the security check lines are closed. How could nine lines have been open?
“I have indeed checked this information. It’s a big space, and there have been lines open across the space. One of the work islands of the security check has a line on both sides. This may have caused a misunderstanding about how many lines it was possible to do business with.”
How many security lines are there in total?
“There are ten new technology lines, and they enable faster transactions. With the new lines, you can leave electronics and liquids in your bag. Older technology lines are used as needed. On Wednesday, two of them were in use.”
How could the queues come as a surprise?
“We were prepared for the fact that the liquid rule would congest security checks and we have increased resources. But it came as a surprise that so many passengers have large containers of liquids or food items that are classified as liquids. Everyone has them.”
Why aren’t enough security inspectors reserved for the morning and afternoon rush hour?
“The European Commission made a decision [uusista nestesäännöistä] in July. When we found out about it, we started recruiting immediately. Recruitment takes about two and a half months. The process includes, among other things, a safety report made by the authorities and various training and orientation periods.”
Queues have plagued the security check several times due to strikes, vacations, flus, staff shortages and new through-lighting devices. Why haven’t enough personnel been assigned to the security check before?
“Of course, exceptional situations are always challenging in terms of resourcing. Last fall, we had challenges related to recruitment. The recruitment yielded results, and the situation was rectified. Most of the year is smooth and without congestion.”
Is queuing for two hours for a security check reasonable?
“We are very sorry for this situation. It’s not reasonable. It doesn’t match the experience we want to offer passengers. We are working hard to rectify the situation.”
What does shoulder strength mean?
“We have done a lot of work with resources and added related signs to the airport in three different languages. Attention announcements rotate every 15 minutes. The security inspectors have been flexible a lot and extended their work shifts.”
Why don’t the staff instruct the queuing passengers about the new liquid rules, but only the security inspectors on the leash intervene?
“These rules have been communicated at check-in and we have increased customer service personnel in front of the security check. Thousands of people can go through the security check in one hour, so it is unfortunately not possible to personally contact all passengers.”
Why are waiting times for the security check no longer announced on Helsinki-Vantaa’s website?
“The estimate of the waiting time is based on how long one passenger takes at the security check. At the moment, liquid removal is a new situation and we are not able to smoothly produce this information.”
Would such a waiting time meter make it easier for passengers to assess how early they should leave for the airport if they could see it online?
“We have found that providing reliable information is difficult. The situation may vary during the day. We don’t want to provide information that could lead to the passenger arriving too late for the flight.”
How can a passenger know if they need to reserve five hours or if one hour at the airport is enough?
“The airline gives instructions for this. Following the airline’s instructions is highly recommended.”
Will those who are in a hurry be allowed to board the flight past the queues?
“Not allowed. In a queuing situation, we have no possibility to estimate whose flight will leave at which point. We treat all passengers equally. It is important that passengers arrive at the airport in good time.”
When can congestion be expected to ease?
“We hope that the situation will have eased by the end of September.”
Over news on Thursday, that the background of the new liquid rules is the European Commission’s suspicion that the new through-lighting devices may not detect explosives in liquid containers of more than 330 milliliters.
Finavia has not identified such a danger, says Hämäläinen.
According to him, Finavia only uses transillumination devices approved by the European Commission. The same devices are widely used in the EU.
“We have been very satisfied with the devices, and according to our information, there is no such danger in them.”
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