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Birmingham Airport fast-track security lane sales put on hold after queues chaos

Continuing problems with long queues for security checks at Birmingham Airport have led to fresh booking for an express lane being put on hold.

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Queues for security at Birmingham Airport have been a big problem in recent days

No new bookings will be taken for the "foreseeable future" but all existing fast-track bookings – to avoid long queues for checks – will be honoured.

The airport dealt with 57,000 departing passengers between last Friday and Bank Holiday Monday, with some missing flights because of security queues of up to three hours.

It had 15,200 people depart on Thursday and is expecting to handle more than 17,000 on Friday.

The airport has had roughly double the number of bookings that the fast-track facility can cater for, which is why the decision to pause further bookings for the foreseeable future has been taken.

Simon Evans, Birmingham Airport's head of corporate affairs and marketing, said: “Our priority is making sure every departing customer makes their flight."

In relation to security queues he added: “There is no quick fix to this problem, but we are tackling it. Week by week, our deployable security resources are increasing.

"Our new security officers, once trained and deployed, will help reduce customer wait times. In addition, we are bolstering our front-of-house team to ensure customers benefit from speedy information and improved service.

“As always, our message to departing customers is: Help us help you keep queues moving by removing any liquids, gels, pastes and electrical items from your bags before our security X-ray scanners."

The airport will continue to review bookings for the security express lane and as customers volumes stabilise it will look to reopen the option to book the £4-per-person pre-paid service.

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