Time needed for security screening at Santiago de Compostela airport.

[teambergie]

Hello, we will be completing our Camino de Santiago Portuguese central walk this Friday, July 1.
Our flight to Barcelona (Ryanair) departs at 1340 on Sunday, July 3. What should we allow time-wise to get to the airport and through security? Any reports of recent abnormal wait times due to the ongoing air travel melt-down being reported worldwide ?
Thanks.

 

[Slowninja]

Hi,

I came through Santiago airport security yesterday 28/6/22 (albeit early @7am) and security was well organized and I was through in 10-15mins (Ryan air text allows 2 hours).

If you are transiting via Madrid it was more like 30 mins in security. Passport control is the biggest issue, so expect a wait of 40 approx mins plus.

Hope that helps

 

[stevepjq]

Wow - probably less than 3 minutes! That was early May for me. Maybe add 2 minutes to be safe. haha

 

[Sheesh]

In addition to time needed to go through security, be sure to review the fine print for your ticket for any deadline to check in (unless you are able to do it on line) and obtain your boarding past.

I don't have experience with Ryan Air but my upcoming flight on Iberia Express stipulates:

"Iberia Express closes its check-in desks 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. For flights leaving from Madrid or outside of the Schengen Area, check-in counters close 55 minutes prior to departure."

 

[Slowninja]

Wow - probably less than 3 minutes! That was early May for me. Maybe add 2 minutes to be safe. haha

Agreed, back in May it wasn't an issue - in Lisbon anyway

 

[Slowninja]

In addition to time needed to go through security, be sure to review the fine print for your ticket for any deadline to check in (unless you are able to do it on line) and obtain your boarding past.

I don't have experience with Ryan Air but my upcoming flight on Iberia Express stipulates:

"Iberia Express closes its check-in desks 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. For flights leaving from Madrid or outside of the Schengen Area, check-in counters close 55 minutes prior to departure."

My outbound Ryanair flight last week, from UK to Madrid was delayed 50 mins and my connecting flight (with Iberia) to Vigo was also delayed 40mins.

The difficulties seem to lie with passport control and a lesser extent security.

 

[dougfitz]

In addition to time needed to go through security, be sure to review the fine print for your ticket for any deadline to check in (unless you are able to do it on line) and obtain your boarding past.

I don't have experience with Ryan Air but my upcoming flight on Iberia Express stipulates:

"Iberia Express closes its check-in desks 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time. For flights leaving from Madrid or outside of the Schengen Area, check-in counters close 55 minutes prior to departure."

I travelled on Ryan Air at the beginning of the month. The night before, they sent an email (via my wife, who had booked the flight for me) stating that they wanted me to be at check-in three hours before gate closure. When I fronted up at the check-in desk, the woman looked at me in amazement, and told me they wouldn't be checking in for over an hour for my flight. I informed her that I was only following the instructions sent to me. She then made a statement to the effect that the company was wrong, and check-in wasn't going to open for my flight until two hours before the scheduled departure.

I don't know how you would go about checking with the local airline representative in Santiago if this happened, but be aware that there appears to be a conflict here.

And as others have said, getting through the security and passport checks was quick, even with the additional checks at I am subjected to at security because I have a couple of prosthetic joints.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

There shouldn't be any passport checks if you're flying to Barcelona.

 

[Former member 102963]

I travelled on Ryan Air at the beginning of the month. The night before, they sent an email (via my wife, who had booked the flight for me) stating that they wanted me to be at check-in three hours before gate closure. When I fronted up at the check-in desk, the woman looked at me in amazement, and told me they wouldn't be checking in for over an hour for my flight. I informed her that I was only following the instructions sent to me. She then made a statement to the effect that the company was wrong, and check-in wasn't going to open for my flight until two hours before the scheduled departure.

I don't know how you would go about checking with the local airline representative in Santiago if this happened, but be aware that there appears to be a conflict here.

And as others have said, getting through the security and passport checks was quick, even with the additional checks at I am subjected to at security because I have a couple of prosthetic joints.

Don’t know if you still have email copy but likely to be generic to catch all customers irrespective of airport. So sent to passengers from busy major hubs and small airports! Main target would be big airports.

 

[dougfitz]

Don’t know if you still have email copy but likely to be generic to catch all customers irrespective of airport. So sent to passengers from busy major hubs and small airports! Main target would be big airports.

I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work for me as an explanation. They should know when their check-in gates open at the various airports they fly from and not ask their customers to arrive an hour early unnecessarily to find the check-in hasn't opened for their flight.

 

[Former member 102963]

I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work for me as an explanation. They should know when their check-in gates open at the various airports they fly from and not ask their customers to arrive an hour early unnecessarily to find the check-in hasn't opened for their flight.

Not advocating it, just saying it is probably what you received. I would be surprised if an airline would segment their customer base for this type of message by airport! Very costly and time consuming.

 

[dougfitz]

Not advocating it, just saying it is probably what you received. I would be surprised if an airline would segment their customer base for this type of message by airport! Very costly and time consuming.

Really? I would have thought any good customer relationship management, booking and scheduling software would have found it a breeze to match a passenger with the airport they are flying from. That's surely core to their business. It should then be a simple step to have an information pack tailored for the specific airports that can be sent to passengers flying from specific locations. Expensive and time consuming? I don't think so.

Anyhow, this isn't the real point. That was to warn anyone travelling with Ryan Air to treat a message to get there early with caution, and perhaps check that they are not being asked to get to the airport well before the check-in opens for their flight.

 

[Former member 102963]

Really? I would have thought any good customer relationship management, booking and scheduling software would have found it a breeze to match a passenger with the airport they are flying from. That's surely core to their business. It should then be a simple step to have an information pack tailored for the specific airports that can be sent to passengers flying from specific locations. Expensive and time consuming? I don't think so.

Anyhow, this isn't the real point. That was to warn anyone travelling with Ryan Air to treat a message to get their early with caution, and perhaps check that they are not being asked to get to the airport well before the check-in opens for their flight.

I am saying how it maybe versus how it should be and I have no idea re Ryanair’s CRM capability, who manages their data, whom their agency is, and so on. But 1 email with one set of copy, Proofing, 1 set of translation and so on is definitely easier and cheaper, and less likely for error than say 200 versions. Perfect world maybe not but that’s not how it is likely to be!!

Customers are right to expect 121 targeted messaging but there are many constraints to that!

 

[DBC]

Hello, we will be completing our Camino de Santiago Portuguese central walk this Friday, July 1.
Our flight to Barcelona (Ryanair) departs at 1340 on Sunday, July 3. What should we allow time-wise to get to the airport and through security? Any reports of recent abnormal wait times due to the ongoing air travel melt-down being reported worldwide ?
Thanks.

It will depend on how busy your flight is and how many other flights land/depart at a similar time = hard to predict. Get there 3hrs before take off time - if you’re early sit, have a coffee and chill.
I took the bus from Santiago to the airport - it was not running to the published timetable but I allowed 1.5hrs for the bus journey time including waiting at the bus stop so had plenty of time.

 

[Former member 102963]

It will depend on how busy your flight is and how many other flights land/depart at a similar time = hard to predict. Get there 3hrs before take off time - if you’re early sit, have a coffee and chill.
I took the bus from Santiago to the airport - it was not running to the published timetable but I allowed 1.5hrs for the bus journey time including waiting at the bus stop so had plenty of time.

Broadly but airport operators resource Up and down for peak times. To me you don’t need 3 Hours but often the hours before a flight is ‘dead time’ anyway so might as well have a coffee at airport as opposed to in city

 

[lt56ny]

Really? I would have thought any good customer relationship management, booking and scheduling software would have found it a breeze to match a passenger with the airport they are flying from. That's surely core to their business. It should then be a simple step to have an information pack tailored for the specific airports that can be sent to passengers flying from specific locations. Expensive and time consuming? I don't think so.

Anyhow, this isn't the real point. That was to warn anyone travelling with Ryan Air to treat a message to get their early with caution, and perhaps check that they are not being asked to get to the airport well before the check-in opens for their flight.

I think that even in an imperfect world this would be easy to do. I have never flown Ryanair so I have no experience with them. Having flown many different airlines over the years I have come to the conclusion that the overwhelming majority of airlines do not give a damn about their customers except trying to find ways to squeeze us into smaller seats, give us bad and uncaring service and twist every nickel they can out of the customers for all their wondrous and confusing fees.

 

[Former member 102963]

I think that even in an imperfect world this would be easy to do. I have never flown Ryanair so I have no experience with them. Having flown many different airlines over the years I have come to the conclusion that the overwhelming majority of airlines do not give a damn about their customers except trying to find ways to squeeze us into smaller seats, give us bad and uncaring service and twist every nickel they can out of the customers for all their wondrous and confusing fees.

I guess we are going round in circles! I have never worked in CRM, but have worked alongside and they cannot be many tougher and more detailed places to work!

I don’t know where airlines are in terms of consumer ratings, whether they have gone up or down. I am relaxed about modular pricing as a value proposition/trade off though it’s very tough and confusing online!

 

[CarolR]

Hello, we will be completing our Camino de Santiago Portuguese central walk this Friday, July 1.
Our flight to Barcelona (Ryanair) departs at 1340 on Sunday, July 3. What should we allow time-wise to get to the airport and through security? Any reports of recent abnormal wait times due to the ongoing air travel melt-down being reported worldwide ?
Thanks.

Hi there
I flew this morning Vueling 6:40am departure to Barcelona. Arrived just under 2 hours before and that was the right amount of time without panic or undue hanging around.

 

[lt56ny]

I guess we are going round in circles! I have never worked in CRM, but have worked alongside and they cannot be many tougher and more detailed places to work!

I don’t know where airlines are in terms of consumer ratings, whether they have gone up or down. I am relaxed about modular pricing as a value proposition/trade off though it’s very tough and confusing online!

I know for a fact just reading the news things are tougher than ever. But I can say as a former business flyer who has taken hundreds and hundreds of flights over the years I have a night full of stories of unprovoked bad customer relations from mostly the ground personal in airports. There is also no doubt whatsoever that the airlines gouge customers on a daily basis with extra baggage fees, exorbitant fees to get a seat ahead of time, waiting on the telephone for endless hours to speak to a representative, understaffing in airports, the list goes on and on. I have even flown a few airlines that if I wanted even a glass of water I had to buy an overpriced small bottle. Volaris airlines in Mexico comes to mind. I do have sympathy especially for airline crews and counter people especially in the United States where they are taking their life in their hands because of passengers who act totally insane. Yes Covid has given permission for these people to act horrendously. Which brings up another point, why aren't all the airlines getting together to completely bar any passenger who behaves like this? Why are they resisting pooling this information to prevent this assine and dangerous passengers from just choosing another airline. This behavior is getting worse by passengers but I can safely say from my own personal experience and those of other frequent business travelers I know that many employers have acted like total jerks for years pre-Covid.

 

[DBC]

I know for a fact just reading the news things are tougher than ever. But I can say as a former business flyer who has taken hundreds and hundreds of flights over the years I have a night full of stories of unprovoked bad customer relations from mostly the ground personal in airports. There is also no doubt whatsoever that the airlines gouge customers on a daily basis with extra baggage fees, exorbitant fees to get a seat ahead of time, waiting on the telephone for endless hours to speak to a representative, understaffing in airports, the list goes on and on. I have even flown a few airlines that if I wanted even a glass of water I had to buy an overpriced small bottle. Volaris airlines in Mexico comes to mind. I do have sympathy especially for airline crews and counter people especially in the United States where they are taking their life in their hands because of passengers who act totally insane. Yes Covid has given permission for these people to act horrendously. Which brings up another point, why aren't all the airlines getting together to completely bar any passenger who behaves like this? Why are they resisting pooling this information to prevent this assine and dangerous passengers from just choosing another airline. This behavior is getting worse by passengers but I can safely say from my own personal experience and those of other frequent business travelers I know that many employers have acted like total jerks for years pre-Covid.

….and this is related to the topic/question because………?

 

[lt56ny]

….and this is related to the topic/question because………?

Because i was responding to someone else that is why. We all have a choice of what we do and do not want to read. I do not know what the big deal is. Also there literally thousands of posts in threads we have all read over the years that diverge from the original topic.

 

[Introibo]

I had the same experience as #dougfitz with Ryanair. Email late the night before advising to arrive 3 hours before. Got through security in less than ten minutes! Then waited several hours for the check in desk to open.

Then chaos as Ryanair tried to get an entire plane full of people to fit onto two flights of stairs as we waited for a plane to be made ready.

Happy days

 

[C clearly]

Can we please stay closer to the topic of getting to the airport in time, rather than seizing the opportunity to complain about the aviation industry in general?

 

[Mycroft]

Really? I would have thought any good customer relationship management, booking and scheduling software would have found it a breeze to match a passenger with the airport they are flying from. That's surely core to their business. It should then be a simple step to have an information pack tailored for the specific airports that can be sent to passengers flying from specific locations. Expensive and time consuming? I don't think so.

Anyhow, this isn't the real point. That was to warn anyone travelling with Ryan Air to treat a message to get there early with caution, and perhaps check that they are not being asked to get to the airport well before the check-in opens for their flight.

That's why that guy started years ago that website ryanairisevil.com. Last time I checked it was not longer in existence; maybe he should start it again.

 

[Former member 102963]

I had the same experience as #dougfitz with Ryanair. Email late the night before advising to arrive 3 hours before. Got through security in less than ten minutes! Then waited several hours for the check in desk to open.

Then chaos as Ryanair tried to get an entire plane full of people to fit onto two flights of stairs as we waited for a plane to be made ready.

Happy days

Yes as I said pretty sure it would be a generic email to all flyers irrespective of departure point!