‘Queue chaos’ at Birmingham Airport as holidaymakers forced to wait outside – updates

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Thousands of passengers were stuck in queues stretching out of the doors of Birmingham Airport this morning as around 7,500 people passed through the terminal during the early peak.

Holidaymakers reported “absolute chaos” as queues for security were seen to snake out of the airport doors and along the length of the building.

Queues had significantly eased by 10.30am on Monday (May 9), while photos and video footage taken by frustrated passengers show hundreds of travelers lined up to get into the airport earlier on, with flights delayed by up to an hour.

Travelers said “thousands” of people were stuck in a queue reaching up to “one kilometre” in length at its peak.

It’s the latest in a string of problems to hit the staff-cut BHX following weeks of complaints from flyers about long security queues and delays.

An airport spokesperson said around 7,500 people were booked to fly during the busy dawn peak, prompting the decision to run security queues outside. They said the lines were “long but managed and moving”.

Similar scenes were seen at the city airport this weekend, prompting airline TUI to apologise to travelers passing through the terminal on Saturday.

Last week, airport chief executive Nick Barton admitted the chaos would continue for several weeks. Speaking to BBC Radio WM, he blamed a 12-week “lag” between recruiting new employees and making them operational. He said: “It’s still the legacy of the industry being turned back on by the Government’s removal of the rules in mid-February.”

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