'Fast track' tickets to more than double in price at Birmingham Airport as queues continue
Passengers looking to speed up their return to the UK are set to pay more than double for the fast track service at Birmingham Airport.
It has been announced on the Birmingham Airport website that the Premium Fast Track service was set to increase in price from the start of July.
The airport said that vouchers could be pre-booked online for £20 from July 1, having previously been £7 for the service, which provides holidaymakers with the chance to jump the queues and gain faster access to passport control using a separate lane.
It marks an 185.7 per cent increase in the cost of the service, which can only be pre-booked at least 24 hours to the passenger's arrival at Birmingham Airport, but the airport has said that the fast track service is a UK Border Force product and prices were not set by the airport.
A spokeswoman for Birmingham Airport said: "The Premium Fast Track, as on our website, is for arriving passengers only and is a service operated by the Government agency of Border Force.
"This is an arrivals service provided by them not anything to do with Birmingham Airport outbound security or our Express Lane."
The news follows on from issues stemming from new security measures at the airport, with some holidaymakers reporting missing their flights or cancelling their holidays due to the huge queues at departures and issues around new security screening standards for passengers and cabin baggage.
The airport was one of the first in the country to have implemented new security screening standards for passenger and cabin baggage.
The rule change would allow for liquids of up to two litres to be taken through in cabin baggage – however, Birmingham Airport is still awaiting "regulatory approval".
On arrival at Birmingham Airport, travellers who have booked the Arrivals Fast Track service should follow the signs for Premium Fast Track and scan their barcode on the automatic gate, which can be shown on a mobile phone or as a printed copy.
Passengers can then proceed straight through to the Border Force desk and will then follow standard border control and passport checks before being allowed into the baggage reclaim area.
The service is subject to availability and ticket bookings are limited to 50 tickets per hour in order to reduce queuing time to a minimum of 5 to 15 minutes.
The Home Office has been contacted for a comment about the price increase.