More Birmingham Airport chaos amid traffic hell at 'broken' drop-off (2024)

28 shares

Families flying from Birmingham Airport once again faced long queues for security today as one passenger described the scenes as a 'health and safety disaster'.

Travellers using the airport have faced waits of up to several hours to get through the terminal in recent weeks following the opening of a £60million security hall.

The new area will eventually allow passengers to leave liquids up to two litres and large electrical items in cabin luggage while they go through security, but fresh government restrictions mean passengers are still only limited to 100ml bottles.

A video also showed a long queue of cars to get into the drop-off area today. Witness Olly Carruthers said it was 'chaos' with the zone 'completely broken and backing up'.

Another traveller said he had waited for more than an hour by 5.30am this morning and had still not reached the lifts to pass security - with 1,000 people in the queue.

The man told Birmingham Live: 'It is literally a health and safety disaster as animals would not be treated so badly. I estimate at 5.30am there are approximately 1,000-plus people queuing. It's running something akin to a third world operation.'

Another passenger, trance DJ Davey Asprey, tweeted at 4.40am: 'Queuing for 98 minutes already and still outside of the airport for security.'

Mr Asprey, who was on his way to perform at Luminosity Beach Festival in the Netherlands, added: 'I'm British. We love a good queue, but this is ridiculous.'

But the time of arrival at the terminal appeared to significantly affect the length of the queue, with passenger Daisy Scarlet tweeting at 11.55am that the airport was a 'breeze' and the 'fastest I've ever been through security'.

Then at 3pm, battlefield guide Ian Mason tweeted: 'I'm already in the queue. We got here at 1pm for a flight at 4.45pm and not even up to security.

'It's a complete shambles. As for CEO blaming passengers he needs to get a life. Who knows if we will make the flight? God knows what the airport will do.'

He added at 3.39pm: 'Birmingham Airport, it's a complete shambles. The queues are horrific.

'Eventually, I managed to speak with someone from security to let us through fast track even though we hadn't paid. If that had not happened, then we would missed our flight.'

Earlier, the airport revealed that security staff confiscated almost a tonne of liquids over the 100ml limit in three-and-a-half-hours today after a temporary liquid checking structure was set up.

The airport - which also denied the figure of 1,000 people in the queue - told how staff removed 0.8 tonnes of liquids, pastes and gels in containers which were over the 100ml hand luggage limit going through security between 3.30am and 7am.

A spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: 'As predicted, today was always going to be a busy departing day. Our temporary structure for busier days like this was used, as this is what it was planned for.

'At the main peak time customers queued just over an hour but the queue was constantly moving, with customers passing through the terminal quickly to access security.'

The airport also urged customers to 'check the container sizes that are in their hand luggage', and only arrive in time for their airline's check in desk opening time.

The airport's chief executive Nick Barton previously claimed there were 'bedding in' issues following the opening of the new security hall, saying that the 100ml limit still being in place meant it was like 'having a sports car and keeping it in first gear'.

Mr Barton, who received a total remuneration package of £699,000 in 2023, has been under fire over the queues and has admitted the situation is 'not what we planned'.

He was also accused of blaming passengers for not following baggage rules which he said could be adding 20 minutes to each person's journey through security.