Birmingham Airport bosses address passenger concerns and queuing chaos

As Birmingham Airport undergoes significant changes, we’ve put your burning questions straight to airport bosses as the summer holiday season approaches. In recent weeks, there have been reports of “chaos” with hundreds of passengers queuing to enter the terminal amid ongoing construction work, particularly during the busy morning rush hour.

Congestion tends to ease by mid-morning, but confusion reigns among travelers over the updated 100ml maximum liquid rule, exacerbated by limited waiting space due to the hold-up in the rollout of the airport’s “next-generation” security hall. This has resulted in some passengers arriving up to seven hours before their flight, occasionally bringing non-compliant items such as slime pots.

BirminghamLive has been constantly publishing live blogs from the airport to keep our readers informed. We’re committed to accurately reflecting the current situation, whether it’s a smooth and fast experience or scenes of greater turmoil.

Birmingham Airport answers your most pressing questions, reports Birmingham Live.

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1) Is it possible to implement queue markers that indicate the estimated wait time at various points in the line, similar to those found in theme parks?

Not. The environment of an airport and the security sensitivities/requirements in place are somewhat different to the likes of Alton Towers.

Getting on a plane and the time it takes to make sure everyone will be kept safe is different than getting on a rollercoaster and should rightfully take longer.

2) There was a real-time wait time tracker on the website. Will you bring this back?

The real-time tacker was an estimate of the pending state at that time. When construction work began, this facility was removed.

We will review the availability of this feature once the build work has been completed.

3) Why were only five lanes used on Sunday 16 June when the queue was two hours long?

Will there be a time when all 7 will be up and running?

The queue was not two hours on Sunday. 75% of our customers who traveled waited less than 20 minutes for security.

Even at our very busy peak in the morning, the line was less than 60 minutes to access security. Read our full report on Birmingham Airport’s ban on two-hour queues.

Lane usage is based on passenger demand and throughput. At the time you refer to, three out of four passengers were processed in less than 20 minutes.

5) When is your peak period and what is being done to improve things for the summer?

We see peaks throughout the year based on route offerings, different passenger profiles and demographics. Summer, which we now see extending into October, and winter are our main peaks.

As we recently announced, we have established a new temporary facility where a third party customer service team will operate “liquid check stations”. This will ensure that carry-on bags are compliant with security processing.

6) How many hours do you recommend people arrive before their flight?

Our advice to all passengers, whether they have checked baggage or hand luggage only, is to arrive at the time recommended by the airline. This usually happens two to three hours before the flight.

However, this information is included in all bookings as it aligns with when the airline opens the check-in counter. Despite the media hype, some passengers arrive at the airport 5-6 hours before their flight.

As of June 3, no known passengers have missed their flight due to queuing.

7) Some days seem busier and have less big problems, so can you give people an idea of ​​the best days to fly?

In the last 8-10 days, I have not encountered significant queues. Introducing additional measures to help customers with the liquid rule has improved the flow through security.

As an operational airport, every day is different. We have also implemented additional measures to ensure our customers understand the 100ml rule before processing security.

8) Queues seem to build up around 4am and continue for several hours what is the peak time for flights and therefore the peak time for the security line?

Our first planned peak of the day is usually early morning. However, due to security concerns and risks, we never disclose specific details of passenger peaks as this information could be misused.

We have noticed passengers arriving too early for their flights, especially those traveling with hand luggage only. This affects the number of passengers security expects at any given time.

Therefore, our main advice is for customers to arrive at the time recommended by the airline rather than relying on media or social channels.

Regarding the use of plastic bags for 100ml items, they are no longer required. If a passenger chooses to use a plastic or toiletry bag, that’s fine as long as no container holds more than 100ml of liquid.