Here is a question to those who travel a fair bit and whenever possible they check in online: Why do we bother to check in on line? I am sure the answer is likely to be: “to save time”, or “to avoid having to stand in line”, or “to get a preferred seat”. The answer is never “so I can take twice as long to get processed at the airport”.
Two days ago, our company travel coordinator took the trouble of checking my colleague and I on Middle East Airlines (MEA) on a short trip from Amman to Beirut. Boarding passes were printed and handed to us a couple of hours before we were due to leave for the airport. As we only had carry on luggage, we thought it would be a breeze; just go through passport control and security checks before making our way to the business lounge for refreshments and the usual email catch up.
When we arrived at passport control, some lunatic was let loose on those short chrome posts and red belts that banks, airports and various other public places use to make people queue in an orderly manner instead of the old-fashioned multiple lines. Our friendly lunatic built the most complex maze I have ever seen. Luckily, I didn’t have to go through the maze as I had an e/Gate card so I let my colleague enjoy the maze adventure and I went to the electronic gate. Both lanes were down or switched off so, I grudgingly entered the maze just like all the other great unwashed.
In this maze I had to do so many left and right turns I could have qualified on the front grid of a Formula 1 race. There were about 50 passengers ahead of me with only two officials doing the usual passport checking and stamping. Finally my colleague’s turn came and as he spoke no Arabic and the official had limited English, the exchange was awkward to say the least. Finally my friend beckoned to me that all was not well. I went up and the official explained that we needed our boarding passes checked and stamped by the carrying airline. I asked why and he explained it was the usual procedure. When I challenged this fact since I went through not more than a month earlier, his patience snapped so I decided to leave him alone and followed my friend to weave our way through the infernal maze. When we finally got to the MEA desk, I asked:
Me: why do we have to have our boarding passes stamped?
MEA: No stamping, just re-issue
Me: Why do we have to have our boarding passes re-issued?
MEA: Sorry sir, it’s new regulations
Me: Why?
MEA: There have been a few cases of forging online boarding passes
Me: So why don’t you fix your system to stop it from being breeched?
MEA: I don’t know
Me: Also, what is the point in allowing ANYONE check in online since they will have to come to you AFTER wasting so much time innocently queuing at passport control?
MEA: I don’t know, sorry sir
New boarding passes were issued and we re-traced our steps across the airport concourse and through the Devil’s Maze. On the whole, this little episode took 55 minutes to accomplish instead of 5 because of the collaboration between two incompetent entities.
Coincidentally, the flight from Amman to Beirut took 55 minutes.
