Dad blasts Birmingham airport after paying £2,400 for family to skip ‘chaotic’ queues

A Birmingham grandfather hit out at Birmingham Airport after paying £2,400 to upgrade his family to business class to avoid “chaotic” queues at security. Business councilor Andy Moore criticized airport bosses for failing to “prioritise women and young children” in the long queues which have caused misery for passengers in recent weeks.

Mr Moore’s daughter Melissa, her partner Jack and their 6-month-old baby arrived in the UK two weeks ago from Sydney, flying to Birmingham on his recommendation. But Mr Moore said he “regretted” suggesting he was flying to BHX, with the return flight scheduled for early Saturday morning, when the queues are “worse” than at other times of the day.

After “not being able” to book a fast-track ticket the week before the flight, Andy decided to pay for an upgrade to business class with Qatar Airways – which offers passengers priority passage through security – so his family could avoid “the stress and the pressure to wait in line with their child. He said the “chaos” in the queue was causing “huge reputational damage” to Birmingham Airport and the wider region.

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Andy’s family flew back to Sydney via Doha on Saturday 22nd June. A few days before they were to fly, Andy claims he visited the airport to assess the situation and inquire about buying a fast-track ticket, which he claims was “unavailable” at the terminal.

He says he tried to buy a fast-track ticket on the airport’s website a “week” before his family’s flight, but was unable to do so because they were sold out. The pass was very popular after large crowds of travelers faced long queues at certain pick-up points.

Andy Moore told BirminghamLive: “I had to pay for an upgrade to business class for my family just so they could avoid the stress and pressure of queuing at the airport. I would be more than happy to pay for fast service. but you just can’t get it.

“The way the airport has put this extra pressure on people is not. Families with very young children are expected to queue for hours, which is not fair. What if the baby needs feeding, what if they need changing? do?

“My daughter had a 24-hour journey ahead of her – hours of waiting in line with a toddler isn’t going to help anyone. It’s a nightmare to start a trip, it’s stressful enough traveling with small children. Sorry for suggesting it. that he flies to Birmingham’.

Tourists have faced long waiting times at Birmingham Airport in recent weeks since the government’s last-minute changes to hand sanitizer, where it ordered airports to restore the 100ml limit. Birmingham Airport bosses this week warned passengers not to show up too early for their flights, particularly when they only have hand luggage, saying it was contributing to security problems.

Business adviser and mentor Andy Moore also criticized the decision to remove escalators from the airport, instead forcing people to queue for lifts, saying it was “adding to the problem”. The terminal’s escalators were removed last year amid ongoing work to complete the “state-of-the-art” security hall.

Mr Moore continued: “They have removed the old escalators and replaced them with lifts, which will never have the same capacity. There have been small improvements, but this has been going on for months.

“It’s not acceptable. Women with infants and children are queued for hours just to get through security. It’s crazy – they should be given priority. At Sydney and Doha airports, families with small children have been sent right off the bat, why isn’t this the case in birmingham?

“Over the last few months everyone I know has had a nightmare journey through Birmingham Airport. This situation is hugely damaging to the reputation of the airport and our region.”

A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: “We are sorry that Mr Moore felt he had to upgrade his tickets to business class in order to use the Express Lane through security. To ensure that the Express Lane product provides the required service, tickets are limited.

“Over the past ten days, security queues have averaged just over 11 minutes, with peaks of just over an hour. For any queues that may occur during peak periods, our colleagues are in the area and can help customers if they need assistance without losing their seat. in line.”