Birmingham Airport queue times: Passengers slam site as a 'f***ing disaster' as there are 'queues everywhere' for 'over two hours' at security

Birmingham Airport has been branded as a “disaster” as passengers face “long queues” that are “everywhere”. One passenger wrote on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday (Wednesday 1 May): “Birmingham Airport is a f*****g disaster!!! Upgrading the security and there are queues everywhere.”

Another passenger wrote on the social media platform: “Birmingham is probably the worst airport in Europe to travel from. Completely incompetent management, providing an appalling passenger experience.

“Two hours plus long queues through security, stressed passengers missing flights.” The problems arose on Monday 29 April where BirminghamLive reported of long queues and missed flights as passengers were held for hours at security. 

The airport said the issue at security “compounded the peak departure schedule and hindered their operation”. One passenger posted: "After queuing for two hours at Birmingham airport I managed to get the staff to take me through security, only to miss my flight and for Ryanair to leave on time (for once) with a half-empty plane."

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson told BirminghamLive: "We saw a usual busy Monday morning at Birmingham Airport with customers queuing downstairs, which is the new normal, as the upstairs queuing area has been taken out of service as we construct our new security area. The airport has been a working building site for 18 months, and continues to be, while we build for our future with a new security area. 

“Queuing and walking routes are constantly changing however our colleagues are around for any help and assistance in the terminal. We apologise to our customers for the impact this transition may have from time to time."

The airport also reminded passengers that "existing security restrictions remain in place” which can “be confusing to our customers and on average 15 per cent of bags are rejected as they are not compliant with current security restrictions.” It added: “For each customer, a non-compliant bag adds ten minutes on top of their security search time. As a reminder, customers taking liquids and electricals through security in their hand luggage should follow these instructions."