Customs...part time?

[TarHeelBrit]

We landed at about 8:45am at Heathrow and made our way to the customs hall expecting a line to get through. Nothing could have been further from the truth all lanes, red, green and blue were empty not a customs uniform in sight???? I could have driven a Challenger through customs and no one would have stopped me. We didn't have anything to declare anyway but I, at least, expected someone to be there.

 

[sandbender]

Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't watching you.

 

[Macaroon]

Yes, it seems to be a lottery as to whether you get stopped or not. They'll tell you that even though you can see nobody they are watching you, and often have done background checks from the passenger list to assess the risk involved. They are also very aware of where flights have come from and what their possible connections with "high-risk original port of departure" may have been.

That's what I've been told by airport personnel, so only anecdotal.....................

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Just a word of warning though, if next time you do decide to drive a challenger through be aware the cost of parking (if you can even find somewhere to park) in London is astronomical.

 

[sandbender]

I can add that if you use a Peli-case as a carry on they are sometimes are tripping over them selves to get out of the office to call you over.

 

[Coldfeet]

I can add that if you use a Peli-case as a carry on they are sometimes are tripping over them selves to get out of the office to call you over.

They look great fun

 

[bilmo-p5]

At Leeds/Bradford Airport they used to have a counter with a steel roller shutter on it. If you arrived in the evening and the shutter was down there was a bell push next to it with the sign, 'If you have anything to declare please ring this bell'. LBA used to shut at night back then.

 

[Goatboy]

Peli cases are pretty awesome. I did a couple of demos to customers with my LR Discovery parked on mine with my GPS in it to show how tough they were.

 

[sandbender]

They look great fun

Peli cases are pretty awesome. I did a couple of demos to customers with my LR Discovery parked on mine with my GPS in it to show how tough they were.

I can be confident that my laptop and gear won't be damaged by folks trying to overstuff the overhead locker but the cases do look a bit unusual and so often attract the attention of customs officers.

However they also make nice seats and desks on building sites.

 

[sandbender]

At Leeds/Bradford Airport they used to have a counter with a steel roller shutter on it. If you arrived in the evening and the shutter was down there was a bell push next to it with the sign, 'If you have anything to declare please ring this bell'. LBA used to shut at night back then.

On my last trip to Scotland the flight arrived really late, after midnight sometime. The customs desks were all shut up, I don't doubt that someone was on duty and watching but there was no sign.

Being tight and hard up I decided just to sit in the airport until the morning and get some work done, much to my surprise the police made a round at about 01:00 and quizzed everyone there and inspected IDs. No baggage checks though.

 

[petrochemicals]

Depends on also where you arrived from. Spain holiday flights are not even worth the time, the guy at passport control waves you through in Spain and surprisingly you can get to Spain without a passport if you loose it, but not Holland . I cannot ever remember coming back from Spain and having my passport checked UK side. It more or less relies on check in I believe. If you had purchased a one way ticket at short notice in Colombia to heathrow, they may have pulled you. But then again dogs and xrays make up a lot of workload these days.