Birmingham airport security removed almost a tonne of liquids in just over three hours

Security staff at Birmingham Airport seized almost a tonne of liquids over the 100ml limit in just three-and-a-half hours on Thursday.

This revelation followed a passenger’s claim that this morning’s queues were a “health and safety disaster”. Tourists compared their treatment to “animals wouldn’t be treated so badly” and criticized the waiting process as “something akin to a third world operation”.

One traveler claimed more than 1,000 people were waiting at around 5.30am, a figure disputed by the airport. During today’s delays, airport staff seized 0.8 tonnes of liquids, pastes and gels in containers over the 100ml hand luggage limit between 3.30am and 7am.

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The airport confirmed that passengers had used its temporary check-in station structure and said queues were constantly moving, with customers taking just over an hour to get through checks.

A spokeswoman for Birmingham Airport told BirminghamLive: “As predicted, today was always going to be a busy departure day. Our temporary structure for busier days like this was used because that is what was planned. During peak hours, customers queued. just over an hour, but the line was constantly moving with customers rushing through the terminal to access security.

“This morning alone, from 03.30 to 07.00, we removed 0.8 tons of liquids, pastes and gels in containers exceeding the permitted limit of 100 ml from hand luggage passing through security.

“As always, we ask customers to check the size of containers in their hand luggage, all containers must be under 100ml. Customers are also reminded to arrive on time only with the opening time of the airline’s check-in desk.”

Earlier, a passenger told BirminghamLive: “We’ve been queuing for over an hour and we still haven’t got to the lifts. It’s a health and safety disaster because the animals won’t be treated that badly. We estimate that at 05:30 there are approximately 1,000-plus people queuing. Something akin to a third-world operation is underway.”