Helsinki-Vantaa | Wilhelmiina Griep, who was late for her flight, had to buy new plane tickets – Passengers have a different view of congestion than Finavia

from Helsinki Wilhelmina Griep was one of dozens of passengers who missed their flight due to a congested security check on Wednesday.

Griep was supposed to fly with his spouse to Krakow on Wednesday at 17:10. They arrived at the airport about an hour and a half before the flight. When they entered the field, the security check line stretched all the way to the main doors. The husband left his luggage in the hold, but Griep himself had carry-on luggage.

HS previously reported that the departure hall of Helsinki-Vantaa was very congested on Wednesday and even had to wait in line for the security check a couple of hours.

Finavia, which maintains the Finnish airport network, told HS that there were eight or nine security checkpoints open even during rush hours.

However, many passengers who contacted Helsingin Sanomat say otherwise.

Gripe was supposed to fly with his spouse to Krakow on Wednesday at 17:10. They arrived at the airport about an hour and a half before the flight. At that time, the queue for the security check stretched all the way to the main doors, says Griep. The husband left his luggage in the hold, but Griep himself only had hand luggage.

According to Griep, while waiting in line, they noticed that several lines were closed.

“After we had already waited in line for an hour, the one and only open inspection line of the old model was closed, leaving three lines and the priority line,” he says.

Queuing therefore, Griep only made it to the gate at 5:17 p.m., when the plane had already left.

“The plane had been waiting for passengers for five minutes, so in the end it was only two minutes before we got on the plane,” he says.

Griep says that Finnair did not reroute their trips, but they had to buy new tickets for 150 euros. According to Griep, there were a dozen people who experienced the same fate. He recognized some of them from the same security line.

A new flight to Krakow was only arranged for the next day. Griep says that they did not dare to take an early morning flight because of possible traffic jams, but took a flight later in the morning.

Bridge times they were already on the field two and a half hours earlier. The suitcase that was checked into the spouse’s hold did not have to be checked again, so they could go directly to the security check.

Gripe according to the staff admitted that the reason for Wednesday’s congestion was that the lines could not be kept open any longer due to a lack of staff.

The couple was also supposed to stay overnight in Krakow, and they lost the price of the accommodation they had paid in advance, so what happened resulted in them not only the price of new flights, but also other financial losses.

Director of Communications Days Tallqvist told HS earlier on Thursday, 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 opportunities for the planes to wait for passengers are limited,” Tallqvist said.

Many passengers who contacted Helsingin Sanomat were reminded that checked-in bags cannot be left at check-in until the counter opens two hours before.

Elina Vihriälä traveled on Wednesday morning for a day’s business trip to Stockholm and was about to be late for his work meeting. His flight was scheduled to leave at 7:25.

Vihriälä only had hand luggage with him, so he went straight to the security check a little after six and had to wait in line for an hour. The worst traffic piled up behind him.

Vihriälä says that he also did not receive any messages from the airline about queues or liquid restrictions, but he had read about it in the newspapers and he did not have any liquids with him.

“I didn’t see anyone removing liquids, but several bags could be seen going through a closer inspection,” he says.

Vihriälä says, like many others, that many of the lines were closed, contrary to what Finavia has said.

He says that it was difficult to understand the length of the queue because there was no information about the waiting time, and the queue wound longer than he could have predicted.

“A few people tried to get in the front row, and in at least one case the staff called the guards to the spot and the front rowers were ordered back in the queue,” says Vihriälä.

When boarding his flight was already underway, Vihriälä started asking the people in front of him about their flight times, and a few people let him pass them in line.

Vihriälä finally ran to the gate a few minutes before it closed and was just in time for his flight. At the gate, he asked the staff if the queues were due to changes in liquid restrictions.

“They answered that partly, but not only because of that,” says Vihriälä.

He has flown on the same flight often, and has never experienced anything similar, but according to him, the security check has previously taken place in a reasonable amount of time.

Helsinki native Mari ElGuerouahi on the other hand, traveled with her friends on Wednesday for a holiday trip to Split, Croatia. The flight was scheduled to depart at 18:10.

ElGuerouahi says that the friends had reserved plenty of time for the airport, as their idea was to eat at the airport before the flight. Because of the queues at the security check, it remained a dream.

“I’ve never seen such a traffic jam in Helsinki,” he says.

ElGuerouahi said that he ended up waiting in line for almost two hours at the security check. Also, according to him, not all lines were open on Wednesday. One of the open ones was the priority line and the security guard directed some people who were in a hurry for their flight to go there.

“We just made it to the flight, but didn’t even have time to go to the bathroom after the check-in,” says ElGuerouahi.

According to him, not everyone made it. ElGuerouahi says that a young woman traveling alone turned away from the security line in tears after being told that her flight had already left.

“It was a pity for him,” says ElGuerouahi.