Travel chaos at Birmingham Airport continues today amid confusion over the 100ml liquid rules as passengers fear it could last all summer.
Frustrated holidaymakers are still waiting in hours-long queues to get through security as early morning flights appear to be most affected.
One passenger shared a photo of the queue at around 6am this morning, leading out of the terminal in a straight line.
It comes amid confusion over the 100ml liquid rules as the government temporarily changed its plans to lift the measure.
The government initially gave some airports the go-ahead to allow passengers to carry up to two liters of liquids in hand luggage after installing new CT scanners.
But it has not temporarily re-imposed the 100ml limit pending appeal.
Travel agency Tui recently urged passengers on long-haul flights to check in three to four hours before their expected departure time.
And there are fears among passengers that the chaos could continue for months as insiders say the airport is “understaffed” and staff are “overworked”.
Tui has told its passengers that its check-in desks at Birmingham Airport will open two to three hours before departure for normal flights and three to four hours before departure for long-haul flights.
It comes after EasyJet passengers were advised to arrive three hours early for their flight to Birmingham.
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.”
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The airline insisted the advice was not linked to a 100ml liquid limit, The Telegraph reports.
Airports have criticized the government for installing new 3D scanners at some airports – including Birmingham – as the rules on liquids were reversed.
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.
But the likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were allowed to miss the deadline for their installation after various logistical challenges.
Some airports that have installed the new technology have already dropped the 100ml liquid rule.
But the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that six UK airports will temporarily re-introduce the ban.
The change will affect passengers from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.
All airports have New Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC) in operation which have enabled them to do away with the 100ml rule.
State-of-the-art CT scanners create a 3D image of what’s inside passengers’ luggage and are being rolled out at a number of airports across the UK to speed up security checks.
Birmingham Airport has already been told to comply with the 100ml ban while it awaits regulatory approval after installing its new £60m security screening hall, which included new high-tech scanners.
Earlier, insiders claimed that queues at the airport can 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.
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”.