Security Check Before Flight.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

Do any other airports in the world carry on like this?

 

Yes... Plenty - it also depends on the destination...

 

i.e. Some destinations require an additional security check prior to boarding (i.e. at the gate, after duty free etc).

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

That second hand-luggage check before being allowed in the check-in area to your plane heading for Australia, is not a 'security' check. 

On my recent direct flight to Melbourne from Bangkok with JetStar, they confiscated or emptied all water-bottles before allowing you in the check-in area.  The reason being to force you to buy drinks on that 9-hour flight (and they do not provide free water on request, like all other airlines do).  Note that they do provide you with a 10 AUS $ voucher, which you can use sufficient for 1 small meal (or snack) and beverage.  Being used to the generous meals, drinks and free extras on Emirates flights, I was rather bemused by that 'service'.  

 

Paranoid rubbish....      Its a security check and has nothing to do with airlines profiting from you by making you buy water from them...    thats hillarious.

[BritManToo]

14 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Paranoid rubbish....      Its a security check and has nothing to do with airlines profiting from you by making you buy water from them...    thats hillarious.

I always take a mug, an empty bottle and some 3in1 coffee mixes with me.

Then I can have a hot coffee while I wait for the flight and a free water for during the flight.

There's always a hot and cold water dispenser in the flight waiting areas.

Some people take instant noodles cups with them.

[rattlesnake]

9 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I always take a mug, an empty bottle and some 3in1 coffee mixes with me.

Then I can have a hot coffee while I wait for the flight and a free water for during the flight.

There's always a hot and cold water dispenser in the flight waiting areas.

Some people take instant noodles cups with them.

 

I drank from one of those in a Suvarnabhumi waiting area once a few years ago, I thought it tasted a bit strange, but still drank half the cup as I was thirsty. I caught a stomach bug which lasted a couple of days and was pretty unpleasant… so I'm never drinking from these things again, I'd much rather buy an overpriced bottle.

[Red Phoenix]

50 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Paranoid rubbish....      Its a security check and has nothing to do with airlines profiting from you by making you buy water from them...    thats hillarious.

Well, you were not allowed to take water or drinks on board.  And everybody - like myself - that had bought a bottle of water or other drink AFTER the security check in the TaxFree zone had it confiscated, before you were allowed to enter the plane. 

I have flown the world but never have I encountered something like that.  It was JetStar on its direct flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.  

Note that flying domestic in Australia with JetStar, that you can take beverages on board.  

[rattlesnake]

9 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Well, you were not allowed to take water or drinks on board.  And everybody - like myself - that had bought a bottle of water or other drink AFTER the security check in the TaxFree zone had it confiscated, before you were allowed to enter the plane. 

I have flown the world but never have I encountered something like that.  It was JetStar on its direct flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.  

Note that flying domestic in Australia with JetStar, that you can take beverages on board.  

 

Good to know and indeed unusual.

[ronnie50]

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

No! Not the same security, a different one nearer to where I get my plane. I ask again, do any any country's in the world carry on like this?

From Hong Kong, Cathay used to fly to New York with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. At the gate in HKG there was second full security check for liquids, etc. Think that flight no longer exists (nowadays they probably fly non-stop to NYC). But that was around the height of post 9-11 fears

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Oh, I was confused. When you said: "You should not have to go through this security rigmarole twice within an hour in the same airport using the same airline.", I thought you meant you got through security twice in an hour. 

 

I am also confused about the chain of events. Were you connecting though Dubai or was that the origin?

I was traveling from Bangkok to Glasgow return changing at Dubai.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Yes... Plenty - it also depends on the destination...

 

i.e. Some destinations require an additional security check prior to boarding (i.e. at the gate, after duty free etc).

Here is another of my experiences.

 Two days before I flew back to Bangkok I went to the Emirates desk at Glasgow airport. I told the lady about having to go through the security two times and was frightened I may miss my plane and there was only one and a half hours layover in Dubai.

She said to me to ask for wheelchair assistance when I check in and they would arrange to meet me at the plane in Dubai. I told her I was perfectly fit and could walk for miles, she told me it doesn't matter, so that is what I did.

At Dubai I was wheeled from one plane on to security and then the train, the straight through and on to the plane. Great service.

I was going to put this on the forum but there are far too many <deleted> among the posters and knowing myself, I would just retaliate and get banned.

So from now on it's Emirates for me.

[richard_smith237]

47 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Well, you were not allowed to take water or drinks on board.  And everybody - like myself - that had bought a bottle of water or other drink AFTER the security check in the TaxFree zone had it confiscated, before you were allowed to enter the plane. 

I have flown the world but never have I encountered something like that.  It was JetStar on its direct flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.  

Note that flying domestic in Australia with JetStar, that you can take beverages on board.  

 

Emirates do the same...  (or used to)...   Its not an individual Airline Policy to sell more drinks...

 

These are Enhanced / Secondary Security checks are mandated by the Australian Government to bolster aviation security for all flights entering Australia (as an example) - checks are concentrated on Liquid and Electronics screening - they'll exist at entry to the 'gate' on flights from specific points of origin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

17 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Here is another of my experiences.

 Two days before I flew back to Bangkok I went to the Emirates desk at Glasgow airport. I told the lady about having to go through the security two times and was frightened I may miss my plane and there was only one and a half hours layover in Dubai.

She said to me to ask for wheelchair assistance when I check in and they would arrange to meet me at the plane in Dubai. I told her I was perfectly fit and could walk for miles, she told me it doesn't matter, so that is what I did.

At Dubai I was wheeled from one plane on to security and then the train, the straight through and on to the plane. Great service.

I was going to put this on the forum but there are far too many <deleted> among the posters and knowing myself, I would just retaliate and get banned.

So from now on it's Emirates for me.

 

Imagine everyone doing that thought !!!...

... After a bad sports injury, I was on crutches but had airport wheel chair assistance..... Hated it.

With a badly injured leg... and clueless crowds, drifting around like lobotomised sheep I was a dash 'edgy'... gripping my crutches a jousting lance,  in case anyone wandered too close. Thankfully, I never had to strike – but I was ready....    But, it didn't really make anything other than 'check-in' any faster... 

 

Anyway - 1.5 hrs is more than enough time - nothing to worry about. Its up to the Airline to ensure you 'can' transit in time, and their responsibility if you can't...  

 

The security checks at the Middle East Airports (Dubai / Abu Dhabi / Doha) are lightening quick compared to the UK a few years back... and now that many airports are upgrading their scanning systems, there is no need to take anything out of our carry on baggage which means the checks are much much quicker. 

... The UK is now 10x better than it was two years ago now that it has the better CT scanners at many of its airports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GanDoonToonPet]

Happened to me once about 10 years ago, flying NCL-DXB-BKK. They were doing a lot of construction at the time so assumed that was the reason. Flew the same route a month ago and no security check in Dubai.

[wavodavo]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Most of the airports I've used in China do a cursory security check to get into the airport then a more thorough check to get into the departure gates.  The cursory check to even enter the airport varies by the airports.  Some just swab for explosives.  Others x-ray bags and do a pat down, just to enter the airport.

 

 

14 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Most of the airports I've used in China do a cursory security check to get into the airport then a more thorough check to get into the departure gates.  The cursory check to even enter the airport varies by the airports.  Some just swab for explosives.  Others x-ray bags and do a pat down, just to enter the airport.Then you go in and are sreened along with your

 

At airports in the Philipines at the door before you go in you have to show your passport and current ticket to get in the door and then you and your bags are screened. That means that only current passengers can be in the departure lounge. In Manilla there is an area where you can meet your friends to say goodbye after you have checked in.This is a good security measure .You also have to declare your guns at the door to security.

[impulse]

1 hour ago, wavodavo said:

At airports in the Philipines at the door before you go in you have to show your passport and current ticket to get in the door and then you and your bags are screened. That means that only current passengers can be in the departure lounge. In Manilla there is an area where you can meet your friends to say goodbye after you have checked in.This is a good security measure .You also have to declare your guns at the door to security.

 

I miss the good ol' days when Mom would haul us down to the airport on Friday night and we'd greet Dad as he stepped out of the jetway.  If we got there early, we'd head up to watch the planes landing from the outdoor observation deck on the roof of the airport.  That was O'Hare.

 

Simpler times.

 

[Colki]

Red Phoenix I disagree with you and not that it matters but I have had items confiscated at the gate that were missed at initial inspection.

 

These items were of no security consequence to any other country but Thailand.

[mikebell]

16 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

You should not have to go through this security rigmarole twice within an hour in the same airport using the same airline. Do any other airports in the world carry on like this?

Did it in Taipei 20 years ago; never went back.

[CygnusX1]

Entering Istanbul airport after my stay in that city, all bags were X rayed at the airport entrance, before reaching the airline checkin and baggage drop area. The carving knife I had in my checked bag was picked up, but not confiscated, the guy just added my passport number to a handwritten list. Not sure how that would have prevented me from running amok with the knife, if that had been the point of the initial security check, before the normal post checkin security check of carry-on bags.

 

At a hotel in Doha, Qatar, the hotel X rayed my bags, and kept my carving knife with the desk until I checked out. Bit strange, as I could have purchased a range of far more lethal looking knives at city markets.

[Dexxter]

On 5/31/2025 at 6:36 PM, NoshowJones said:

You should not have to go through this security rigmarole twice within an hour in the same airport using the same airline. Do any other airports in the world carry on like this?

 

At Suvarnabhumi I went through the usual security before passport control and then again before being allowed into the gate waiting area. They had set up a table and were checking all carry on bags. This was for a flight to Australia and they were looking for foodstuffs and liquids which are prohibited into Australia but probably OK for other countries. Foodstuffs would not have been problem at the main security but is a problem for Australia hence the second screening.

[jas007]

On 5/30/2025 at 4:26 PM, NoshowJones said:

Arriving at Dubai airport I went through the normal security check, then boarded the bus to go to another part of the airport, then had to go through all the rigmarole again for a second time for my plane to Glasgow.

Why two security checks at the same airport? I only had to do one on my return flight to Bangkok.

Anyone else ever experienced this?

I'm pretty sure that's mot such an unusual occurrence.   I think it happened to me in Thailand.  

 

I went through all the usual checks when I first entered the security zone, and then, at the  departure gate, they did it again.  The second time, they found a nail clipper in my shaving kit and confiscated it.  I guess It was "dangerous."

[josephbloggs]

On 5/31/2025 at 3:36 PM, NoshowJones said:

You should not have to go through this security rigmarole twice within an hour in the same airport using the same airline. Do any other airports in the world carry on like this?

It's because on the flight out you changed terminals and went outside the secure area to take the bus. When you arrive in Dubai everyone goes through security before connecting to their next flight. Normally, if you are just changing concourses (A, B, C for example) within the same terminal you have not left the secure area.

You left the secure area to get a bus, then entered a different terminal, therefore you need to go through security to enter the secure area of your second terminal.

Not really a big deal, and not really difficult to understand.

On the way back you transitted within the same terminal and didn't leave the secure zone, hence the usual single check.

[KannikaP]

9 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

It's because on the flight out you changed terminals and went outside the secure area to take the bus. When you arrive in Dubai everyone goes through security before connecting to their next flight. Normally, if you are just changing concourses (A, B, C for example) within the same terminal you have not left the secure area.

You left the secure area to get a bus, then entered a different terminal, therefore you need to go through security to enter the secure area of your second terminal.

Not really a big deal, and not really difficult to understand.

On the way back you transitted within the same terminal and didn't leave the secure zone, hence the usual single check.

Stop with mentioning 'the bus'. DXB has automatic trains between Terminals. 

[josephbloggs]

19 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Stop with mentioning 'the bus'. DXB has automatic trains between Terminals. 

No. They have automatic trains between concourses and also between Terminal 3 and Terminal 1. If you are going to a completely different terminal you're on a bus. Happened to me last year unless you're saying it didn't.

I don't remember what terminal I left from, but I arrived from BKK at Terminal 3, then had a maybe 20 minute bus ride to another terminal for my connecting flight to London (there were staff waiting with a sign with our flight number), it was a long bus journey and my second flight was fully boarded when those on our bus arrived. It was a very short connection window so it is possible the bus went from one end of Terminal 3 to the other, or it may have been a different terminal, I don't remember. Possibly landed on Concourse A and left from Terminal 1 - the time to go all the way through A, B, C to get to D to take the train to Terminal 1 would be too long so they bus you from Concourse A to Terminal 1.

So it happens. Stop telling people their experiences didn't happen. Happened to me and clearly happened to the OP.

 

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

No. They have automatic trains between concourses and also between Terminal 3 and Terminal 1. If you are going to a completely different terminal you're on a bus. Happened to me last year unless you're saying it didn't.

I don't remember what terminal I left from, but I arrived from BKK at Terminal 3, then had a maybe 20 minute bus ride to another terminal for my connecting flight to London (there were staff waiting with a sign with our flight number), it was a long bus journey and my second flight was fully boarded when those on our bus arrived. It was a very short connection window so it is possible the bus went from one end of Terminal 3 to the other, or it may have been a different terminal, I don't remember.

So it happens. Stop telling people their experiences didn't happen. Happened to me and clearly happened to the OP.

 

 

You are accurately describing the bus between Terminal 3 and Terminal 2, which is primarily, if not solely, for Fly Dubai flights; the Low Cost Carrier for Emirates...    And yes, as you correctly mention, it is a bus, its about 20-30mins...   

 

And... as you accurately point out - the APM - monorail transports passengers within Terminal 3 between concourses A, B and C.

 

 

 

 

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

You are accurately describing the bus between Terminal 3 and Terminal 2, which is primarily, if not solely, for Fly Dubai flights; the Low Cost Carrier for Emirates...    And yes, as you correctly mention, it is a bus, its about 20-30mins...   

 

And... as you accurately point out - the APM - monorail transports passengers within Terminal 3 between concourses A, B and C.

 

That's what I was thinking, T3 to T2 as it was a long journey. My onward flight was also Emirates so not sure why they would be using T2, but I guess it can happen occasionally for various reasons.

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

That's what I was thinking, T3 to T2 as it was a long journey. My onward flight was also Emirates so not sure why they would be using T2, but I guess it can happen occasionally for various reasons.

 

Ah, in that case it was mostly likely T1 to T3...   but thats very uncommon common on for flights that route through Dubai as a major transit hub (i.e. Europe through to Asia) - I'm guessing it could have been a one off due an air-bridge failure etc....

[The Old Bull]

On 5/31/2025 at 2:07 AM, NoshowJones said:

No! Not the same security, a different one nearer to where I get my plane. I ask again, do any any country's in the world carry on like this?

Obviously haven't been to India, three checkpoints before boarding the plane.

[scorecard]

On 5/30/2025 at 4:26 PM, NoshowJones said:

Arriving at Dubai airport I went through the normal security check, then boarded the bus to go to another part of the airport, then had to go through all the rigmarole again for a second time for my plane to Glasgow.

Why two security checks at the same airport? I only had to do one on my return flight to Bangkok.

Anyone else ever experienced this?

 

I went to Karachi Pakistan, just a few says after a US reporter had been kidnapped on the street in Karachi. Aircraft parked about 150 meters from the terminal building. Passengers had to use manual basic stairs and carry cabin luggage with them and claim a 1M marked square on the tarmac.

 

Then the co-pilot opened the cargo doors and lowered 2 giant check-in bag bins to ground level. Passengers had to claim check-in luggage and take it to the square on the tarmac where they had already deposited their cabin bag.

 

Then numerous sniffer dogs sniffed everything. Nothing found by the dogs, dog team changed, nothing identified. 

 

Local people who had been waiting for family, staff, visitors then walked out and took their arrival(s) to their vehicle which had already taken to a designated area and thoroughly searched. 

 

Departing 3 days later had to alight from the vehicle about 150 meters from the building,  walk to a spot a little closer then dogs arrived and sniffed all bags and me. 

 

Got to the check-in desk, all documents thoroughly scrutinized then given a pass with name  etc., printed in a designated colour. About 50 meters further on there was another thorough check and new card issued, printing was in a different colour. Colour changed 4 times. 

 

Then final check completed and a boarding pass issued with a seat number. Then in batches of 4 passengers had to hand over check-in bags and get in an armoured car at an unmarked small exit door and driven to the aircraft, about 500 Meters away. 

 

Walk up the outside simple stairs, then sniffed by 4 or 5 dogs. Eventually all passengers on board, pilot asked if every passenger on board was travelling to Bkk. 

 

Arrival in Bkk normal.

 

Then quickly received an email from the Pakistani conglomerate that my consulting company had won the large contract on offer. I called my boss in Singapore and informed him that we had won the contract but also informed that I refused to go back to Karachi and advised him that we should not ask any of our consultants if they wanted to go. Boss in SIngapore confirmed to forget the contract / project. 

 

[scorecard]

1 minute ago, scorecard said:

 

I went to Karachi Pakistan, just a few says after a US reporter had been kidnapped on the street in Karachi. Aircraft parked about 150 meters from the terminal building. Passengers had to use manual basic stairs and carry cabin luggage with them and claim a 1M marked square on the tarmac.

 

Then the co-pilot opened the cargo doors and lowered 2 giant check-in bag bins to ground level. Passengers had to claim check-in luggage and take it to the square on the tarmac where they had already deposited their cabin bag.

 

Then numerous sniffer dogs sniffed everything. Nothing found by the dogs, dog team changed, nothing identified. 

 

Local people who had been waiting for family, staff, visitors then walked out and took their arrival(s) to their vehicle which had already taken to a designated area and thoroughly searched. 

 

Departing 3 days later had to alight from the vehicle about 150 meters from the building,  walk to a spot a little closer then dogs arrived and sniffed all bags and me. 

 

Got to the check-in desk, all documents thoroughly scrutinized then given a pass with name  etc., printed in a designated colour but no seat number. About 50 meters further on there was another thorough check and new card issued, printing was in a different colour.  Colour was changed 4 times. 

 

Then final check completed and a boarding pass issued with a seat number. Then in batches of 4 passengers had to hand over check-in bags and get in an armoured car at an unmarked small exit door and driven to the aircraft, about 300 Meters away. 

 

Walk up the outside simple stairs, then sniffed by 4 or 5 dogs. Eventually all passengers on board, pilot asked if every passenger on board was travelling to Bkk. 

 

Arrival in Bkk normal.

 

Then quickly received an email from the Pakistani conglomerate that my consulting company had won the large contract on offer. I called my boss in Singapore and informed him that we had won the contract but also informed that I refused to go back to Karachi and advised him that we should not ask any of our consultants if they wanted to go. Boss in SIngapore confirmed to forget the contract / project.