Thousands of Britons have been stuck in queues for hours at Birmingham Airport amid “farcical” and “horrendous” scenes as families jet off for their half-term holidays.
Passengers reported having to wait more than an hour, with some being pulled out of line as their flight’s gate was closing.
It comes after airport officials insisted passengers will have a “simpler and more efficient experience” after opening a new security hall on Saturday.
Passengers also reported long queues in the days leading up to the opening of the new security hall due to construction work, which meant a change to normal queue routes.
The new search area now uses detection machines, meaning passengers no longer need to remove liquids up to 100ml from their hand luggage or keep them in separate liquid bags. Electrical items can now also remain in hand luggage.
Bosses expect 221,500 customers to travel from Birmingham Airport in the nine-day period from May 24 to June 2, a 15 per cent increase on the same period last year. The top destinations are Palma, Dublin, Amsterdam, Dubai and Antalya.
The airport previously insisted their teams were “fully resourced” with “additional colleagues from across the business” to help passengers get through the terminal.
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But among those caught up in the chaos of the queues was Hannah Wright, a mother from Peterborough, who told The Sun: “Security is in shambles – anyone can walk that far.
“We waited an hour to fly to Mallorca. Our son is claustrophobic so it’s hard for him.
“They put a damper on the start of our holiday. There is nothing out of place for children to struggle in situations like this.’
Phil Adams, from Worcester, added: “It was terrible. We’ve been standing in line for over an hour. It’s really tiring and hot.
“We’re flying to Orlando for the vacation of a lifetime, so it’s not the best start.
Others posted reports of the chaos on social media last night, with Isabella Boneham saying: “Very busy at Birmingham airport tonight, queues for lifts outside – and once queues for security!
“It may be busier due to half term and bank holidays, but if you’re flying out of the airport tonight, allow plenty of time.”
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Kieran Parmar added: “Birmingham airport, you are making fun of the airport, please take some lessons from Heathrow. It’s ridiculous how you treat people.’
He posted a picture of the queues and added: “The picture below is after almost an hour of waiting. Then another extra hour, even your own people complained!”
Others described the process as a ‘*** show’, with one saying: ‘Queues at Birmingham airport today 1hr 20 for a 4.45pm flight!’
And passenger Trevor Bartlett told Birmingham Live yesterday: “At 3.30pm this afternoon the queue for 3 (yes only 3) lifts stretched all the way to the M&S store in a snake style and it wasn’t moving very quickly. I hope it will be better in the morning.’
A spokesman for Birmingham Airport told MailOnline today: “Birmingham Airport has over 221,500 customers traveling this half term and as previously predicted the airport will be busy during this time.
“Customers are queuing in areas they don’t know because we still have construction work going on. The security line is constantly moving and our colleagues are in the terminal assisting passengers in this area.”
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It comes after a nationwide problem with the Border Force’s electronic gates caused significant disruption at airports across the country on May 7.
The outage affected airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Manchester.
Border officials instead had to process passengers manually, with pictures and footage shared on social media showing long queues forming at passport control at several airports.
E-gates are automated border gates that use facial recognition to check a person’s identity to allow them to enter the UK without speaking to a Border Force officer.
The disruption comes after Border Force workers launched a four-day strike at Heathrow last week in a dispute over working conditions.