AIRPORT CARNAGE
Travel chaos hits Birmingham Airport as hundreds forced to queue OUTSIDE from 5am after week of ‘total carnage’
Watch queues of passengers waiting to get into the airport
TRAVEL chaos has hit Birmingham Airport once again as hundreds are forced to queue outside "like livestock" after a week of "total carnage".
A new video taken this morning shows long lines outside the security check as the sun begins to rise.
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The queue marks another stressful morning for flyers who have not known whether they will get through security on time.
The new clip was posted to social media site X, formerly Twitter, by entrepreneurs Wes and Pete who joined the queue first thing for a 7.20am flight to Cyprus.
At 4am they posted a video of the already formed queue outside the airport and said "seems like another day of chaos".
They said: "It’s 5.18am - let’s see how quickly we get through. Don’t have fast track. I’ll do the job that the @bhx_official comms team don’t.
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"Awful for anybody elderly, with a disability, kids or if it was raining."
Firstly, they show a long line standing outside the terminal in the morning light and even doubling back on itself.
By 6am the pair have made it along the line into a tent-covered area of the queue "which is slow to get through".
Five minutes later, they post again saying the line has only grown since they had been in the line.
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"And - once you’re in the building there’s more of the long queue."
By 6.18am, an hour after joining the queue, the pair are still in the queue and waiting to get onto the lifts that will get them to the bag check in area.
Travel chaos as furious passengers are forced to wait in huge queues outside Birmingham Airport in ‘total carnage’
At 6.58, they said they had "just about made it" and had made it through security with the boards showing their flight status as 'Final Call'.
"Absolutely shambles and a terrible, stressful, exhausting start to the holiday.
"We certainly felt like livestock today!
"No time to buy anything, get food, go to the loo, make use of the lounge I’ve paid for or sit down after being on our feet for well over two hours.
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";When bag drop doesn’t open until two hours before the flight, and it takes one hour and 45 minutes to clear security, it’s just absolutely the most stressful start to the holiday.
"My advice to everyone is get here three hours before, drop your bag as early as you can, wrap up, make sure you have drinks and food for the queue - and vow to yourself never to fly from this dump until they sort their shit out.
Wes and Pete repeatedly attacked Birmingham Airport's poor communication with flyers "not telling people what to expect".
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They said: "An appalling failure of comms. They parrot their old infographic about arriving when the airline tells you to. Bit if we hadn’t have dropped bags earlier than we were officially allowed to, we’d have missed the flight.
"There is no excuse for their appalling comms or lack of any acknowledgement of the issues.
"No advice to people on what to expect, how to prepare, no apology for the awful start to people’s holidays. Appalling."
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson pinned the issues on flyers who arrived with more than 100ml of liquids in their bags.
They said: "Our 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.
"Containers that can carry more than a 100ml are permitted but, need to be completely empty.
"Our security flow rate has been continuous today, helped by these extra checks and we welcome and appreciate the co-operation of our passengers in eliminating oversize liquids from their cabin baggage.
"The outdoor queues seen today are from ‘liquid check stations’.
“Since our new security area opened in May, we have seen continuous non-compliant bags coming through security causing unnecessary queues and delays to customers’ journeys.
"This new step in the process is to remove the issue before customers proceed.
We certainly felt like livestock today!
Wes and Pete
“It is now, more than ever, imperative that customers abide by the 100ml rule. This additional layer of control risks slowing down the security process without the support of passengers.
“For customers who are less able to stand for durations we advise they book the assisted travel service.
"However, if a customer is queueing during our peak periods and feels they need assistance then our customer ambassadors are in the area and can assist them without losing their place in the line.”
On Thursday and Friday, the airport was also hit by long queues.
But, despite what passengers said on social media, a spokesperson said the lines had "moved fast".
They said: “We had a usual busy morning at Birmingham Airport, with customers queuing in unfamiliar areas.
"The queue was long and skinny in parts however it moved quickly through the terminal."
Flyers had described the queues on those days as "carnage" and "disgraceful".
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One said: "Travelling from Birmingham Airport is an absolute shambles. It has the longest queue for security that I’ve ever seen in my 49 years.
"And check in desks open 2 hours before, despite tickets recommending 3 hours. If you’re booking holiday now avoid it like the plague."
Why are there long queues at Birmingham Airport?
Birmingham Airport has recently opened a new £60million "state-of-the-art" security hall upgrade in May after months of construction work.
The hall is part of a wider £300million upgrade to the airport which is expecting to handle 18million flyers a year by 2033.
The upgrade will eventually allow passengers to carry liquids of up to two litres in cabin baggage.
But regulatory approval is yet to be granted for the increased liquid limits at Birmingham.
A spokesperson has previously said that work continues on the hall.
"Although our new security hall is operational, we still have on-going building works on-site and are awaiting regulatory approval that will allow liquids of up to two litres to be taken through in cabin baggage.
"These building works will continue for the foreseeable future as we redevelop the airport, which is part of our planned, and previously announced, £300m investment.”
"Until further notice, passengers are advised that they can only carry liquids up to 100ml, albeit it can stay in hand luggage and no longer needs to be in a plastic bag, when departing from Birmingham Airport."
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