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Airlines have told holidaymakers to get to their flight from Birmingham Airport three hours early as huge queues continue to cause chaos.
EasyJet passengers have been advised to arrive an extra hour than if they were traveling from another UK airport following the disruption which began a week ago.
He saw long queues snaking all the way outside the airport amid confusion over the 100ml liquid rules.
Furious passengers were left waiting outside in the rain this week as they spent hours going through security.
The government has temporarily re-introduced rules preventing people from traveling with liquids above 100ml in hand luggage until further notice.
The airport’s £700,000-a-year boss Nick Barton came under fire this week for blaming passengers for the chaos over non-compliance with baggage rules.
Are you stuck in queues? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
In a post on X/Twitter, in response to a passenger asking why check-in was suspended on Sunday, EasyJet said: “We recommend arriving at the airport 3 hours or at least 2 hours before your flight to account for potential delays and facilitate check-in.”
The airline insisted the advice was not linked to a 100ml liquid limit, The Telegraph reported.
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It comes as airports have criticized the government for installing new 3D scanners at some airports – including Birmingham – for changing the liquid.
This was meant to mean that on 1 June the rules were changed so that passengers could carry up to two liters of liquids in their hand luggage.
The rules were expected to change at the start of June, but the likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were allowed to miss the deadline to install them after various logistical challenges.
Some airports that have installed the new technology have already dropped the 100ml liquid rule.
Birmingham Airport has been told to stick to the 100ml rule while it waits for regulatory approval to be installed in its new £60m security screening hall.
But last Friday, the Department for Transport (DfT) unexpectedly announced that it would have to comply once more.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said the DfT’s “surprise” announcement “came with very little time to react”.
She said it had “created uncertainty for passengers just as airports enter their busiest period”.
“It has also put airport operators in a challenging position as they have had very limited time to prepare for the additional staffing and wider resources this will require and no clear idea of ​​when this issue will be resolved,” she added.
“All airports are investing hundreds of millions of pounds to implement this huge program of government-mandated technology and program upgrades with equipment and processes that meet their requirements.
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“We ask all passengers to bear with us and ensure liquids are carried in containers of no more than 100ml unless otherwise specified.”
Birmingham Airport chief executive Mr Barton appears to blame passengers for the delays by not following baggage rules.
“A non-compliant bag with liquids over 100ml can add up to 20 minutes to each passenger’s journey through security,” he said.
Mr Barton said the situation was “not what we had planned” and a pre-screening facility would be set up next week to ease queues.
He said after the multi-million pound security hall opened there were problems with “bedding” – passengers were forced to wait in queues crawling out of the terminal to go through security.
Mr Barton told the BBC: “Since the opening of our new security area, and despite being one of the first UK airports to comply, we have been restricted in the use of our multi-million pound equipment due to an exceptional regulatory restriction, which means limiting the amount of liquids per 100 ml.
“Despite the 100ml rule still in place, we consistently have non-compliant bags of liquids that exceed the permitted limit, which has made our facility inefficient and increases customer waiting times in the queue.
“It is now imperative that all customers comply with a nationwide rule that will ensure a smoother and easier transition through the airport.”
On Sunday, insiders claimed that the queues currently seen at the airport could last for months and the airport is “understaffed”, leaving staff “overworked” and “struggling”.
The problem was initially thought to stem from a lack of staff and the time it took to complete the upgrade of the new security hall, with the source adding that the airport was to hire more security staff to combat the issues.
In response, airport bosses said there was an “ongoing recruitment campaign for security officers” and added that missed or delayed flights were “not necessarily” their fault.
The trouble started on Thursday, when long queues formed as new rules for carrying liquids caused confusion among passengers.
The chaos had not eased as it had on Friday, and over the weekend people arrived three hours early for their flights but still found themselves in long lines at security.
Birmingham Airport said in a statement that as well as security delays with the new technology, “ongoing construction work on site” added to the “usual busy morning” as customers waited in “long and thin queues”.
Are you stuck in queues? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk