The last two times I have flown out of Heathrow airport the exact same thing has happened to me. While queueing to get through the metal detector and have my bags scanned, the fire alarm has gone off and I have been forced to leave the building and wait about half an hour to get the all clear. The friend I travelled with the first time this happened has also reported that it has also happened to him on a separate occasion.
Now, this could be simple coincidence or one of three things is happening:
a) someone is lighting small fires beyond passport control quite regularly
b) BAA has been sold some duff smoke alarms
c) since the smoking ban was introduced in England, a few naughty people have been smoking in the toilets.
If the answer is C (and staff at Heathrow suggested that it might be) then this represents one hell of an overreaction. Quite aside from crying wolf, hundreds of people are inconvenienced, stress levels are raised in an already tense situation and flights are delayed. Before I start calling BAA to find out what on earth is going on, I just wondered if this has happened to anyone else. Have you noticed the fire alarm going off in English airports with any frequency?
Above right: Fire Alarm Originally uploaded by blueDonkey
December 1, 2007 at 5:09 pm
i can understand smoking ban at british airports. but what about those who are in transit and want to smoke after long flight and waiting to board for another long flight. no facilities such an open area, have been provided for those in transit. no wonder many are avoiding british airports and instead connecting via other european airports.
December 14, 2007 at 2:54 pm
you are right. i know a lot of business friends are now avoiding british airports due to non availbility of smoking area while in transit.
February 3, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I can’t say that I’ve noticed anything different at Heathrow although the answer you’ve been given is (as you say) the most likely one – that’s people for you!!
But an over-reaction? No, the alarms give a rough idea of where the fire is, but not its *exact* location or, crucially, how BIG it is. The LFB operate on the theory that it’s a huge fire somewhere near the toilets which could get worse, and they’d have to evacuate anyway. It’s also “poetic justice” on the idiot that’s set the alarm off – they get delayed too