Trevor Laffan: A frantic airport dash... and a fast-track system that failed me

I fly with Ryanair several times a year, and I don’t have an issue with them.

They’re a budget airline and what you see with budget airlines is what you get. Minimum comfort and potential charges for bags that don’t fit into the measuring bins, but you know that at the outset so there are no surprises.

They usually get you to your destination on time and that’s the main thing.

They’re not necessarily cheap any more though, and anyone who has booked a flight recently will be aware of the increased charges. That applies across the board with all carriers.

Ryanair proudly boast of their record for getting flights to their destinations on time. Thankfully, they have abandoned that annoying trumpet announcement heralding another early arrival. In fairness, they are usually on time.

On those occasions they are late, you are likely to get a variety of excuses. While waiting for a flight from London Gatwick to Cork last year, I received a message on the Ryanair app that the flight was delayed by two hours. The message said there had been a slight technical problem with the aircraft, that had since been resolved.

When I got to the departure gate, a Ryanair staff member made an announcement about boarding and apologised for the delay, which was due, she said, to adverse weather conditions.

When we eventually got on the plane, there was a further announcement and another apology for the delay from the captain, but this time, he cited illness and having to find a replacement crew member as the cause of the problem.

After a while, you begin to wonder about the accuracy of the information.

On a recent flight to Cork with Ryanair, there was an announcement advising passengers that there was a guest on board with a peanut allergy, so passengers were asked not to eat peanuts. They also apologised for the fact that peanuts would not be served during the flight.

There was a flutter of amusement among the passengers, and some wondered if this had more to do with achieving a quicker turn-around for the aircraft. Hoovering up discarded peanuts would slow down the cleaners.

Anyway, like I say, I don’t generally have an issue with Ryanair, but a few weeks ago something cropped up that I wasn’t aware of and I want to highlight it because it could cause problems for other passengers.

My wife and I were travelling from Larnaca in Cyprus to London Gatwick recently. It was scheduled to land at 7pm. Our onward Ryanair flight to Cork was due to depart at 9pm, so we had a two-hour window to get to the boarding gate, which would be enough as long as there were no delays.

When I was checking in online with Ryanair, I booked fast track security for both of us just in case there was a delay. For anyone who hasn’t used this facility, it basically allows you to pass the winding queue for security and takes you directly to the security personnel. An excellent facility when you’re caught for time and it usually costs around €8 to €10 per person.

Unfortunately, our flight was half an hour late taking off. When we got to London, we were put in a holding pattern, which delayed us further.

In fairness to the Wizz Air cabin crew, they moved us up to the front of the plane so we could make a dash once we landed.

The alternative for us, if we missed the onward flight to Cork, was to spend the night in a hotel and pay for two extra Ryanair flights the following day, which were priced at £277 each. Add that to the cost of a hotel and a bit of grub and you’re pushing towards €900, so you can see why we were anxious to make the flight.

Our flight landed at 7.45pm, and by the time it was parked up, and the door was open, it was about 7.50pm. We were ushered off first and started our run.

When we reached the fast-track facility, it was unmanned. We asked one of the security men what the story was and he just shrugged his shoulders and told us it was closed.

Fortunately, the queue was relatively small, and we sailed through security and made the flight with time to spare. If it had been busy, it could have been a different story.

The following day, I contacted Gatwick Airport to complain. I explained my situation and suggested there was no point in charging for a facility that wasn’t available.

They replied promptly as follows: “Thank-you for your message. You would need to enquire with Ryanair / the booking provider as they were the ones who took the payment and not us. If you book through the official website, you can only book for times when the service is open. We can only assist with bookings done in the main Gatwick website.”

So, there you have it, and this is important. If you book fast-track security through an airline, they will accept the booking and charge you accordingly, but they have no control over the service.

So, when you arrive at the security zone, there is no guarantee you will be able to access the fast-track system.

The only way to ensure access is to book it through the official website of the airport concerned and NOT through the airline. It doesn’t cost a lot, so it’s not about the money, but getting delayed at security could cause you to miss a flight.

Ryanair has since returned the fees to my account.