Passengers at Birmingham Airport said security queues were an “absolute nightmare”, with those departing yesterday (April 14) reporting experiencing “chaos, confusion and huge queues”.
One described the scenes as “one of the worst airport experiences ever,” while another said it was an “absolute nightmare,” BirminghamLive reported. Another questioned the airport, saying: “Can you explain the appalling queues at security this afternoon? An hour and 50 minutes to get through. Six scanners open. Appalling service.”
While security changes are currently being made, the airport described this as the “new normal”. Yesterday, a spokesperson said: “Queues at Birmingham Airport today have lasted no longer than 30 minutes.”
“Our customers are queuing downstairs, but this is the new normal as the waiting area upstairs is closed due to our security construction work. Customers may feel this increases the wait time, but this is not the case, it is just an alternative route directly to security.”
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Dozens of Ryanair passengers missed their flights to Malaga last week because of queues at security checks. One family also reported that there were also bottlenecks on flights from Dublin and Geneva.
Another angry passenger told BirminghamLive: “Birmingham Airport is an absolute nightmare. There are no stairs available for departure at check-ins B, C and D. There are only lifts and about a thousand people trying to get into three lifts.”
“I went to Terminal A and took the stairs, but the security check is just as busy. If it continues like this, I might be able to get home tonight. It’s just unbelievable how incompetent the organization of this renovation is.”
Problems were also reported on Friday (April 12), when a passenger reported problems at passport control after returning to the city. “Once again absolute rubbish at passport control at Birmingham Airport on Friday afternoon,” he wrote. “If it doesn’t happen on arrival, it happens on departure. This has to be the worst airport in the world at the moment. And it’s nothing to do with the building work!”
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