Express & Star

Passengers continue to face misery of long queues at Birmingham Airport

Passengers travelling from Birmingham Airport have continued to face delays before departing as disruptions remain.

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Passengers pictured queuing up outside Birmingham Airport

People have been pictured in long queues today, following on from the chaotic scenes that ensued at the airport during the half-term holiday and Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend, as travellers faced long delays, cancelled flights and lost luggage, which prompted Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to order the travel industry to "get a grip".

Today, passengers waiting to get through departures have continued to vent their frustration on social media, with many complaining of 'hours of queueing for security'.

One social media user said about their experience this morning: "Absolutely shambolic & totally disorganised. 1 hour queue to get into the queue to go through security."

Another said: "What a shambles @Bhx_official is, 2hrs of queueing and not even through security."

Another user said the queues were 'horrendous' this morning but the staff at the airport however, were great and helpful: "We flew this morning at 06:30. Queues were horrendous for check in. 2+hour security queue, however the staff were great and rushed us through. They were making sure people didn’t miss their flights."

A lack of staff alongside a rise in demand for travel have led to delays and cancellations at airports across the UK, as the aviation industry tries to recover from the disruption to travel by the pandemic.

Chris Pulley, from Lincolnshire, landed with his family in Birmingham from Paris last Monday, May 30, and after waiting hours for his luggage to arrive, he was told to go home without them.

He said: "It was a huge downer to what was an amazing time away at Disneyland Paris. We were left without our cases that had our clothes, toiletries, medication for my son's ADHD, and their merchandise we bought from Disney. It has put us off going to an airport again, especially taking anything bigger than hand luggage with you."

A week after arriving back home, Chris was reunited with his luggage this Monday) and said he will now begin the process of making a claim.