Treated like second-class citizens
Dianne T writes: I write to say how totally outraged I am at the way smokers are now treated at East Midlands Airport. My husband and I travel from there regularly to Cyprus.
Several years ago smokers were able to use the upstairs bar and downstairs was all non-smoking, which seemed to work fine for most people. Last year they started to carry out some refurbishment work and on arriving at the airport earlier this year we found the upstairs bar had been turned into a non-smoking café. However, a bar had opened at the far end of the departure lounge and there was a very pleasant smoking area with tables and seats, along with a separate non-smoking area. The smoking area was well ventilated with air conditioning and there were no lingering smells.
On travelling at Christmas we arrived to find that they had built a corral for the smokers, enclosed in plastic/glass with no seats and only a couple of pedestal tables. Needless to say it was packed with people trying to have a drink and a smoke with nowhere to put cups, glasses or hand luggage. The ashtrays were overflowing as were the bins, with dirty cups everywhere – it was totally disgusting.
In my opinion, condensing the smoke into this small enclosed area makes the smell twice as bad and it lingers on the clothes, which is not nice when you have to sit on a plane for 4 hours. Everyone we spoke to was absolutely disgusted with this new arrangement. Why are we treated like second-class citizens and herded like cows into a corral? Why have the airport once again changed their attitude when we had a nice area to use, which didn’t seem to affect the non-smokers and kept everyone happy?
A lot of people, like myself, are a bit nervous of flying and like a cigarette and a drink just to relax. I don’t find it amusing that we are treated with such distain. I was so angry I wanted to get a petition going there and then, but obviously people were getting on their flights. But this really does need to be addressed, so is there anything you can do or recommend?
I realise that smoking will eventually be banned everywhere, but in the meantime why treat us like this? All I can say is roll on the day (hopefully sometime this year) when my husband and I move out to Cyprus for good and where smokers are not condemned.
posted by Simon Clark @ 13:50
3 comments
3 Comments:
I too have been subjected to the 'smokers corral' on my way to the channel islands, where they had a smoking lounge, and found the same as yourself. Nowhere to put drinks, etc.
And bizarrely as this was a smoking area no ash trays, people were having to put out their cigs in plastic cups?? The reasoning behind this I am convinced is to show the general public what a filthy bunch of Bs'ds smokers are so as to justify the next round of stronger restrictions.
I'm sure you can all see where this sort of reasoning ends up!
You should try Birmingham Airport for arrivals. Departures aren't so bad, at least they were ok last May, when we last flew from BHX. There you can use Starbucks which not only serves fabulous coffee, it has very nice staff and you can smoke in their very spacious area.
Arrivals however is very different. It always was disgusting in that if you wanted to smoke whilst waiting horrendously long times for your baggage, you had to be shut into a tiny glass cubicle, which was the first place the majority of passengers headed for, you couldn't see for the fog, but at least you could smoke. Now they have chained this up and if you so much as take a packet of cigs from your pocket you find armed police heading in your direction!! Apart from this, Birmingham has to be the most filthy and depressing airport to arrive at; goodness only knows what visitors to the UK must think of us if they arrive at Birmingham.
I can be a nervous passenger and need to have a smoke or several both before and after a flight - I don't drink much, just a glass or 2 of wine a week, but I may have to take up the drink if I still want to travel abroad.
Good luck with your plans to move to Cyprus, shame more of us can't do the same.
The same is true of Heathrow - I'm in Cork, but hop across to London once a month to get away from the oppression here.
Near the departures area at the gate they have this pen - i call it a pig-sty for smokers - its that filthy, which is about the size of a small bedroom and has at least seven serious-looking machines humming away there to "protect" two staff members who are rarely in the vicinity.
However bad that may be, it is infinitely better than cork airport which has absolutely no smoking places at all. Once you go through security, you're hemmed in.
We've had the ban here now for almost two years. Its unbelieveably awful. I've spent much of that time considering emmigration too. Smokers here are now treated like aliens in their own country, and are certainly second class citizens.
Blaggarde
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