Recently, I returned from Uzbekistan after a long break. Upon my return, I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness the situation that often occurs in the international terminal. The plane landed, docked with the jet bridge, and excited passengers rushed inside, eager to get home, especially after a night flight. However, as we approached the passport control area, it became clear that leaving the airport quickly was not going to happen. The small space with low ceilings was almost completely filled with people. It took about 15-20 minutes just to descend the stairs.
Then followed another hour of standing in a crowded crowd, which, fortunately, slowly moved forward. The room had obvious ventilation problems. Children were crying, and adults occasionally argued. It was fortunate that no one fainted.
This is how passengers sometimes spend over an hour after a flight. In the times when tickets to Europe did not cost more than the average monthly salary, I always watched with a certain sadness how smoothly passport control was conducted in EU countries. It was evident that people had come home and had certain privileges. Standing in the stuffy queue in Tolmachevo, I even wondered if I, as a Russian citizen, had any similar privileges. But no, skipping the queue (or rather, through a separate queue) was only possible for those traveling with children under three years old.
To be fair, the border control officers worked quite quickly, as fast as the seven "gates" allowed. Even if additional border control officers were somehow available, there wouldn't be enough space to set up workstations. Of course, the airport knew this, but still decided to handle several crowded flights almost simultaneously.
After over an hour in the arrival hall queue, the architectural beauty of the airport is less pleasing. It seems that this happens regularly in Tolmachevo, which makes it more of a common practice than an anomaly. Against this backdrop, all the architectural features of the new terminal are not as exciting anymore. Given a choice, most passengers would prefer a comfortable and fast passage through security and passport control rather than admiring the high columns.
An expert believes that such situations at airports are inevitable. The situation can only be slightly improved, but it is unlikely that the queues can be completely eliminated. "If all passport control booths are operating, the airport can't do anything about it. Theoretically, the number of these booths can be increased, but it will be up to the passengers, not airport employees, to take up space there," the expert says.
