“Our aim is to keep the passenger flow moving as much as possible – we are therefore asking all passengers to allow plenty of time to get to the airport,” he said. “We recognise there may be some additional queueing for security at morning and evening peak times of the day and primarily at weekends in the run up to the Christmas holidays.
“If applicable, travellers with hand luggage, especially on early morning or red eye flights, are encouraged to check-in on-line and be ready for security screening. Passengers with Aurigny can check-in their hold bags the night before for the first London Gatwick and Manchester flights.
“Passengers on other airlines should be ready to check-in as soon as the desks open at 6am. The installation of the new body scanner at Guernsey Airport is helping with the throughput of passengers through the security screening process.”
Pictured: Head of Aviation Services Ash Nicholas is expecting an increase in passengers over the Christmas period.
The Deputy Head of Aviation Services for Guernsey Airport, Steve Langlois, offered advice on Christmas presents.
“Wrapped presents in hand luggage will be x-rayed and may have to be opened by Airport security staff to check on contents; particularly if liquids and sharp objects are detected,” he said. “We suggest passengers who are travelling with gifts in hand luggage should leave them un-wrapped for the duration of their journey to avoid any need to repack. Any wrapped presents can however be checked-in as hold baggage in your suitcase.”
“The 100ml liquids gels and pastes container rule still applies in hand luggage, so any giftsets that contain containers of more than 100 ml will need to be placed in hold luggage, otherwise, it may have to be left behind. Please do not carry party poppers and sparklers in your hand or in checked-in hold baggage, these items are not permitted on board passenger aircraft.”
Aurigny, Flybe franchise partner Blue Islands, and Flybe all allow Christmas crackers to be carried in checked-in luggage, but this is restricted to one sealed box of 12 crackers per passenger and the crackers have to be in their original retail packaging unopened. Homemade crackers are not permitted.