Ercan to Stansted, a Flight Full of Surprises

By Chris Elliott….

Over the years having made this flight many times and after a 4-plus year break due to the  Covid lockdown and nursing my dear departed friend, Margaret Sheard, I felt it was time to travel back to the UK and visit family and friends.

Now this flight has been made more difficult due to insistence by the UK Government that Ercan airport security services are not recognised so this means changing planes in Turkey for more checks with all the worries and discomfort that brings.

I booked my flights well in advance with Pegasus Airlines including the flight services I wanted and I decided as Ercan Airport had a new terminal building I would leave my car behind and take a taxi to and from the airport and  “Quick Cyprus Transfers” did a great job.

I have always travelled mid-week so I could enjoy full weekends in the UK and I was able to get a flight going via the smaller Izmir airport as I did not want to go via the new Istanbul airport which I understand is massive.

These days I suffer problems with my right knee and I can walk without a problem with a stick in the open or over long distances and I have been worrying about this for some time as I had not requested help in my Pegasus Airlines booking for passenger assistance.

When  I arrived early at Ercan airport and checked in at the Pegasus desk, I asked if I could have help getting to the aircraft to which, I received a lovely smile from the girl at the desk and after my case was weighed then sent on its travels, a wheelchair arrived being pushed by a friendly helper who smiled and insisted I sit down.

With that, my travels were a blur, as I was pushed directly to passport control with no queue where my passport was stamped and we were off with a brief stop for a security inspection of me and my hand luggage and then pushed through the amazing new airport building and taken to the departure lounge where my helper said don’t worry we will come for you later.

Great, I managed a short walk to get a coffee and sandwich and in due course, another helper came for me and taking my boarding pass pushed me to the front of the queue as we passed other people waiting to board and then down the walking gangway in the wheelchair up to the aircraft door where I walked to my seat in the front row.

So, what now I wondered as the Pegasus Jet took off and flew to Izmir airport where 2 other passengers and I were asked to wait whilst passengers left from the left-hand door when the right-hand door was opened to reveal a lift platform on to which we all walked and when it reached the ground level we were off again in wheelchairs.

It was a blur of traveling through the airport with all arrangements made and a brief stop at security where the officer asked what was in my leather jacket pocket (silly me a second mobile phone) then standing for a brief pat search and I was on my way again to be collected and then helped onto the second plane which was going to Stanstead.   

We arrived at Stansted and another lift vehicle was waiting for us before sitting in wheelchairs then a quick sprint through the system bypassing the main queues for passport control then on to luggage reclaim where I insisted I get a trolley before pushing this out into the arrivals area with my luggage.

So 2 weeks soon passed and it was back to Stansted where I went to the passenger assistance lounge where they said OK please take a seat and when Pegasus opens their booking desk we will take you there, so after perhaps I hour I was collected in a wheelchair taken to the Pegasus check in desk with luggage booked and then fast-tracked through the airport to security.

Now here I was gobsmacked at what was going on as my helper had to empty all fluids and other items from my flight bag plus place my PC, jacket, and trousers belt into various boxes which whizzed away to be scanned and now it was my turn.

The last time I had been through their systems I had to remove shoes for screening but not this time and then I was being pushed towards a body X-ray machine where my metal body bits would have caused uproar. Still, no, I was pushed past it where my hands and lower body were scanned with a sniffer stick and then another officer gave me a body pat search while I was sitting in the wheelchair.

Free at last from this madness, my helper was able to recover all my belongings from various boxes amid the chaos that was going on before we whizzed through the airport where I was asked again to wait for another helper to take me to the aircraft where I was able to climb the stairs with my helper carrying my flight bags and then I  took my front row seat.

We had liftoff going to Izmir airport where I waited for the passenger to disembark and a helper was there with a wheelchair and he said sir are you going to Ercan when I said yes, he said please come and sit in this wheelchair which seemed to be electrically driven and he zoomed down corridors and though closed doors and then there I was, sitting next to 2 Pegasus ladies waiting for them to take my boarding card and the wonderful moment when I went down the corridor to the Pegasus plane and the last flight home.

One oddity was that I never went through another security check in Izmir which seemed to be part of the UK policy of making life difficult for anybody travelling to and from the UK and TRNC. Shame on them!

To conclude thank you to Pegasus Airlines your staff and other service companies at various airports for making my journey as pleasant and trouble-free as possible.