A reader alerted US to a security check meltdown at SAS’s main Copenhagen hub affecting departing passengers since Thursday.
A new security check (what – unclear) was mandated by the government and has led to hours-long security lines and thousands of missed flights by passengers.
The Copenhagen airport currently suggests that passengers should arrive for Schengen flights two hours and for non-Schengen flights three hours before their scheduled departure time.
Not sure how this exactly will work if you need to stand in the security line for one to two hours?
Here’s an excerpt from the SVT (machine translation to English):
Communications Manager Lise Agerley Kürstein regrets the situation and refers to an order from the Danish Transport Authority.
“We have been ordered to change our security routines for a period of time. This means that we are doing certain things manually,” she says.
Stricter measures after inspection
According to the Danish Transport Authority, additional security measures were introduced at Kastrup security checkpoint following an inspection. This is not due to external circumstances or the general security situation.
Conclusion
This is a very unfortunate situation that has led to a complete security meltdown at the airport.
Let’s hope they can reintroduce previous processes or add more staff so these lines move more efficiently, because it is also expensive for passengers to miss flights due to circumstances outside their control.
I have departed from Copenhagen twice this year, and also transited, but these have all been smooth experiences, at least from the security perspective.