Passengers face long delays at Birmingham Airport ahead of bank holiday weekend
- Passengers experienced over 90-minute delays at Birmingham Airport due to ongoing security measures.
- Some travelers were pulled out of queues as their flight gates were closing, causing frustration.
- Advice was issued to passengers for a busy bank holiday period at the airport.
Thousands of Britons were waiting in long lines at Birmingham Airport during the half-term holidays. Passengers had to wait for over an hour, and some were even pulled out of line because their flight gates were closing. This happened after the airport introduced a new security hall to make the process simpler. The new search area uses machines that allow passengers to keep liquids up to 100ml in their hand luggage without removing them. The airport expected 221,500 customers to travel from May 24 to June 2, which is 15% more than last year. The top destinations were Palma, Dublin, Amsterdam, Dubai, and Antalya. One of the passengers stuck in the chaos was Hannah Wright, a mother from Peterborough. She described the security process as a mess and mentioned waiting for an hour to fly to Majorca. She expressed concern for her claustrophobic son and said it was a challenging start to their holiday to Orlando. Other travelers also shared their frustrations on social media about the long queues and delays at the airport. The airport faced issues with long queues due to the new security measures and increased passenger numbers. Passengers were advised to arrive early, especially if they had checked in online and had no hold baggage. The airport reminded passengers about the liquid restrictions for hand luggage and the need to remove certain items during security checks. Some passengers had to purchase new flights due to delays, causing financial inconvenience. Passengers can check their flight status on the airline's website and pre-book parking through the airport's website. The airport experienced long queues during the bank holiday weekend, with some passengers waiting up to 90 minutes for security checks. Additional staff were deployed to manage the busy period. The airport recommended purchasing a fast pass to skip the queues. Despite the challenges, the airport is working on improving its security search area for a better travel experience.