Birmingham Airport speaks out on queue chaos after 'soaked' customers rush to make flights

Birmingham Airport has refuted passenger claims there was a 2.5 hour wait this morning, June 10, to get into its security area. Solihull-based BHX said instead that 18 percent of all bags going through its "state-of-the-art" security hall were flagged as non-compliant, which means they had liquids of over 100ml in them.

Travel chiefs added that each rejected bag can add on 20 minutes to a passenger's journey through security. Large numbers of holidaymakers, some optimistically dressed in sun hats and shorts, queued in the rain on Monday to morning to reach BHX's security scanners.

One traveller told us it was the "worst" security queue he had seen and one frustrated mum called for a "better queueing solution" after dropping her daughter off at 5:15am. The airport told us today that despite investing £60 million in their brand new security hall, they cannot use it to its full capability.

LIVE UPDATES FROM TODAY'S QUEUE: Birmingham Airport queue confusion live as soaked travellers warn 'worst I have ever seen'

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This is because some of their security scanners were designed to accommodate the new 2 litre allowance, which, as we reported, has been put on hold as it awaits regulatory approval. As such, 'liquid stations' have been set up, but passengers told us that didn't appear to quicken the wait faced by many this morning.

Sally Pko commented on our Facebook page to say: "Lots of people saying this isn’t true….. it definitely is, I was there this morning at 4am!! Queue snaking around outside, everyone getting soaked in the rain. So glad I was arriving not departing!"

Simon Lee joined the BHX queue at 6:40am and said the airport should "be ashamed." Simon's picture showed holiday makers braced for a long wait in the wet weather.

Some were holding umbrellas and others are stood under a canopy provided by BHX. Nigel Thompson took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a picture of the long queues outside, stating it was the "worst" he had ever seen.

Nigel later told us: "I am boarded and ready to fly. I have never in my professional life not had time to do a bit of work before a flight. I got a coffee and a breakfast wrap and had to head straight to the gate. I always allow 2 hours too!"

@BiancaP505 wrote at 7:37am: "Birmingham Airport what a disgrace. Queues for hours in the pouring rain to get to security." Andre Jeffries took to our Facebook page to say recent scenes have prompted him to change his travel plans.

Andrew said this morning: "I would normally fly from Birmingham, but because of this I went from East Midlands. The parking was half the price and just walked straight though. When I got back I was back in my car within half an hour."

However Janet Hawthorne found herself "sailing" through to security on Sunday. Janet wrote on our Facebook page: "We sailed through yesterday morning- we went expecting the queues and there were none outside but we found when we went to security they were letting fast track passengers into the same lanes as the assisted passengers which is not ideal if you have mobility problems."

Others added they experienced an easier transit through security late in the morning or in the middle of the day.

Birmingham Airport statement

We put concerns from this morning to Birmingham Airport. A Birmingham Airport spokesperson responded: “Following the change to liquid, paste and gels rules on Sunday, under the new government directive allowances are now set to no more than 100ml. Despite Birmingham Airport investing £60m in its new security area, it cannot use it to its full capability. The new security area was designed, and resourced, to accommodate the increase to two litres being carried in cabin baggage, this currently cannot be operated with the temporary restriction.

“In order to have full compliance to this new directive we have further amended our operating process. We now have ‘liquid check stations’ at all entrances to the terminal where colleagues are directly assisting passengers to ensure liquids containers over 100ml are removed. With these additional checks we have seen a large proportion of customers still arriving with liquids over 100ml in their bags and these have to be regrettably removed and disposed of.

“This morning at its peak, 18% of all bags going through security were non-compliant, meaning that they had liquids over 100ml in them. When a bag is rejected by the scanner because of a liquid this can typically add up to 20 minutes to each passenger’s journey time through security. Our maximum queue time was 70 minutes and definitely not two and a half hours. Our outdoor queues, seen today, are from ‘liquid check stations that are located outside the terminal.”