Birmingham Airport passengers say 'stop blaming us' amid queues branded 'shambles'

Fed-up Birmingham Airport passengers said 'stop blaming us' amid queues branded a 'shambles'. Long waits at the busy travel hub were again reported today, Friday, June 21, although many holidaymakers said they had passed through checks within 75 minutes at peak times.

Airport bosses revealed security staff were removing 1.5 tonnes of liquids, pastes and gels from passengers daily to make sure they complied with Government regulations allowing no more than 100ml limits in hand luggage. The airport launched a new liquid check area in a bid to help passengers pass through security 'quicker' from Wednesday, June 19.

The hand luggage rule has caused disruption in recent days and added to the length of time passengers have waited in line amid frustration and confusion. But many travellers have claimed they believe the issues extended further than just the liquid limit.

READ MORE: Birmingham Airport travel updates live as measures put in place to handle queues

READ MORE: Birmingham Airport launch new area to help passengers pass security 'quicker'

Passengers cited lift-only access to security and a lack of staff, as well as an over-scheduling of flights between 6am and 8am as other potential causes of queue delays. BirminghamLive's Nick Horner, who travelled from Birmingham to Germany to watch England at Euro 2024 early on June 16 and June 20, said an extra bag security scanner in operation meant his second journey through the terminal was 38 minutes quicker.

One passenger summed up many of the frustrations at the hold-ups last week. He posted on X: "If you are flying after 8am then there are no queues. However these queues are happening every day - and have been since before half-term in May - for everybody flying between 6am and 8am. Lift-only access to security and over-scheduling of flights between 6am and 8am are the cause."

Another posted on X today, June 21: "Three lifts to get to security… then not enough security lanes. Stop blaming the passengers, it’s been like this for months. Absolute shambles.. why aren’t the other airports having the same problems? They’ve had the same changes to liquids?"

A different passenger said: "Joined at 5.45am and got through security by 7am. Moving yes but it shouldn't be that way. And not knowing how long it takes to get through security means that I left home really early. And they blame the passengers for the queue???? Shambles."

Another passenger posted on social media: "You need to open up more security lanes. You can blame the passengers as much as you like but this problem won't be fixed until you realise you're causing it. It's not even school summer holidays yet, can you imagine that chaos?" Another passenger told how he would be using different airports for the next two years. He posted: "Birmingham Airport cannot cope at present and I’ll be using other airports until 2025/2026."

Other holidaymakers were a little more optimistic today. One posted on X: "I joined at 6.15 and was in the departure lounge by 7. Queues long but constantly moving and staff calling people out for earlier flights. I thought it was calm, organised and efficient. The long queues aren't ideal but staff were working hard." Another added: "About an hour this morning. It’s not the lifts it’s the security that’s fairly slow. It seems a long time but an hour isn’t that bad I suppose. It can only get better!"

Addressing the benefits of the new liquid checking structure, Nick Barton, CEO of Birmingham Airport, said: “These new measures are designed to give passengers a smoother and easier experience though security. Our enlarged teams will be on hand to explain the new liquid rules, we all have to comply with, and help passengers prepare for security. The more we can do together to reduce the number of bags that don’t comply with these rules, the more we can reduce queues at security screening.

“Our additional teams aim to help customers travel through the airport with the minimum of inconvenience arising from these restrictions this summer. As always, our advice is to only turn up when your airline has advised and remember that only containers of 100ml, or less, of liquids, pastes and gels can be carried in cabin luggage.”

The airport has previously revealed its first peak time for customers arriving at the airport was from 4am to 8am. Usually, half the total amount of passengers due to leave the city on a given day catch their flights in the morning. .

Low-cost carriers catering mainly for leisure customers try to fly at least three rotations - to a destination and back. This is with each aircraft during a given day. To achieve this, they need to go out first thing in the morning. Airlines serving business travellers also schedule at the busiest times in line with demand as many business customers want to fly out in the morning and return in the evening. The airport previously posted on X: "Peak times tend to be first thing, 4am to 8am, and then from 1pm to 4pm, although this can vary day to day."

An airport spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: “As previously stated, not only do we understand passenger frustration in recent weeks, but we share it too. In response to that, the airport has worked hard and introduced a whole host of measures to help passengers in their journey. These include 100 additional staff and increased liquid stations, that will help passengers get ready to pass through security, following the new rules on liquids.”

“Naturally, the airport will experience peak periods, as dictated by passenger demand. Passengers are remined to follow arrival advice from their airline. Passengers who arrive unnecessarily early, may have to wait for flight check ins to open adding to frustrations and unnecessary queuing. In order to reassure passengers, the typical queue time today was around 30 minutes in the morning peak, and no-one has missed a flight since 3^rd June.”

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