Ugly statistics double down on Birmingham airport woes amid queuing chaos

It comes just weeks after passengers across the region lit up social media with images of snake-style queues being held outside the building.

A score was given to 12 different airports out of 100 for the longest jam and queue times – with a higher score reflecting a longer wait.

Birmingham Airport came second in the 12-strong list with a score of 54.9 out of 100. The airport sees 11.48 million passengers use the site per year and 2.64 million cars pass through the area , passengers have to fight the longer queues inside and outside it. airport.

Passengers had to wait an average of 24 minutes to get through security at Birmingham Airport last year and have recently faced much longer delays, which could worsen this summer as a result of new liquid scanning equipment and technology and renovations.

The data, collected by compensation experts claims.co.uk, combines local authority traffic data from airport regions, annual terminal passenger data and security waiting times to create a ranking of UK airports and their efficiency.

This study comes as UK airports have suffered delays due to changes to luggage liquid limits, power outages, new technology and the summer holiday rush.

London Heathrow topped the ranking as the UK airport where passengers should arrive the earliest with a score of 78.3 out of 100, mainly due to delays caused by the 79.15 million annual passengers who travel through the site .

Bristol is third with a score of 54.7. Passengers here wait an average of 30 minutes to get through security – the second longest wait in the UK. Furthermore, with 9.91 million annual visitors and 2.26 million vehicles in the vicinity, Bristol is a busy airport for its size.

Leeds Bradford Airport is fourth with a score of 51.4 out of 100. With an average waiting time of 35 minutes to get through security, the airport has the longest waiting time despite low passenger numbers, with 3.99 million reported annually.

Rounding out the top five is Manchester Airport, with 28.08 million passengers a year, making it the third busiest airport in the UK. With a score of 50.5 out of 100 Manchester and Birmingham share a security waiting time of 24 minutes.

A spokesperson from claims.co.uk offered the following advice to passengers planning their airport arrival times: “There is a fine balance between arriving within a reasonable flight time and wasting hours queuing.

“The huge queues at Birmingham Airport in the early hours of the morning are partly a consequence of anxious passengers deliberately arriving very early for their flights. There is rarely a reason to arrive at 6am if your flight is at 4pm. You should always aim to be at the airport three hours before your flight, especially if you’re traveling through one of the top airports on this list.

“It’s always better to spend a little more time browsing duty free or sitting in a cafe than risk losing your holiday or getting stuck. Be sure to check local news and social media for updates on airport queues on the day of your flight and follow airline advice. Always go to the gate as soon as it opens. Following this advice should ensure a stress-free start to your summer holiday.”

Full list

The study used data from the Department for Transport’s Road Traffic Statistics Report (2023) to determine traffic around each airport (vehicles per mile at local authority checkpoints). Annual terminal passenger statistics were required from the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s annual airport data (2023) and security waiting times from Which? Security Queue Report 2022.

Each airport received an index score out of 100, on which the final ranking is based.