Now Birmingham Airport hires ‘liquids consultants’ to explain new 100ml liquid rules at security amid scenes of chaos

Birmingham Airport has recruited dozens of staff in a bid to combat growing travel chaos due to confusion over 100ml liquid rules.

Airport bosses have hired “liquid consultants” to help frustrated tourists who have waited in hours-long queues to get through security in recent weeks. Some people even missed their flights.

Staff will help ensure passengers only carry 100ml liquid containers after the Government temporarily scrapped plans to scrap the measure.

The government initially gave approval to some airports to allow passengers to carry up to two liters of liquids in hand luggage after installing new CT scanners. But it has temporarily reinstated the 100ml restriction until further notice.

Passenger anxiety remains high about what to do with liquids and how long to leave before a flight.

Posting on X/Twitter, Chris McBride said the queues started at 2.30am.

Another, who raised a complaint, said: “Due to the delay in security check-in, my wife and I missed our flight even though we arrived 2.5 hours before our scheduled flight time.”

A third joked: ‘Birmingham airport is busy at 4.30am on a Wednesday morning. Note to self: no more seeing your friends over the summer.

But another traveler said he got through security in an hour and ten minutes from the car to departures.

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John Wright said: “Arrived at @bhx-official this morning at 5am using the @airparksexpress car park.

“Pretty quick bag drop with @jet2tweets and went through security on 6.10. The earliest I was given the flight is 8.30.

In recent weeks, passengers on long-haul flights have been advised to arrive up to four hours before departure to check-in.

The continued disruption has sparked fears that delays could continue for months.

The airport said that despite investing millions in its new security hall, it could not make full use of it because of a British government directive on liquids and the fact that it had yet to free up more space.

Birmingham Airport chief executive Nick Barton said the extra “third-party customer service specialists” would explain the current rules and help passengers “prepare for security”.

Mr Barton also revealed that key features such as escalators have been removed for health and safety reasons and will be replaced by lifts.

He said: “The escalators were really dangerous. I removed them because they were a health and safety issue.

“These elevators are huge, we only need three of them to work at the top. When the ground floor opens, people will not be queuing on the ground floor.

He continued: “These new measures are designed to give passengers an easier and smoother experience through security.”

He added that passengers were forced to queue outside to reduce panic and congestion inside and explained: “It’s much nicer to queue outside, as much as we regret the perception it has on passengers.”

Airports have criticized the Government for loose return rules after some airports – including Birmingham – installed new 3D scanners.

It should have meant that the rules were changed on June 1 so that passengers could carry up to two liters of liquids in hand luggage.

But the likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were allowed to miss the latest deadline for their installation after various logistical challenges.

Some airports that had installed the new technology had already abandoned the 100ml liquid rule.

But the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that six UK airports will temporarily reinstate the ban.

The change affects passengers traveling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.

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All airports have Next Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC) in operation which have allowed them to do away with the 100ml rule.

High-tech CT scanners create a 3D image of what’s in passengers’ luggage and are being introduced at several UK airports to speed up security checks.

Birmingham Airport has already been told to keep the 100ml ban in place while it awaits regulatory approval following the installation of its new £60m security screening hall, which included the new high-tech scanners.

It has previously been claimed by insiders that queues seen at the airport could last for months and the airport is “underloaded”, leaving staff “overworked” and “struggling”.

Birmingham Airport said in a statement that in addition to security delays caused by the new technology, “ongoing construction work on site” added to the “usual busy morning” as customers waited in ” long skinny tails’.

A later statement from a spokesman said: “There was no chaos at the airport. We used our temporary outdoor facility and saw a constantly moving queue. This new facility is a direct result of government restrictions on liquids.

“Our average queue time between 04:00 and 06:00 is around 30-60 minutes, with most of the day seeing no queues at all.

“As always, we remind all customers to arrive in accordance with their check-in time and not before, details of this time can be found on their booking documents, and to only bring liquid containers under 100ml in their hand luggage.”