Chaos at Birmingham Airport has rolled into this night, as holidaymakers proceed to queue for hours outdoors the terminal amid confusion over the brand new 100ml liquid guidelines.
Pissed off passengers have been going through hours-long queues right this moment as they make their manner via airport safety — however clients say the strains are transferring.
Images present households lining up outdoors the terminal entrance, wheeling their suitcases and holding their hand baggage, as queues snake across the facet of the constructing.
Delays have been put right down to ongoing constructing works a the airport, in addition to a brand new know-how which has been put in, permitting individuals to journey with liquids of as much as two litres of their luggage.
Sharon Martin spent slightly below two hours within the queue right this moment and mentioned it ‘needs to be a file for me’.
One other girl on social media mentioned she went to ‘bag drop’ after queuing and was ‘directed again out of the airport to queue to get again in. Carnage’.
Mark Toone, from Derby, added: ‘Simply spent 1 hour 35 minutes within the queue, absolute chaos. Our 3-year-old had a hysterical meltdown at an hour in and we managed to get into the fast-track lane.
‘I consider that saved us one other half-hour of queuing. Workers standing round wanting bemused and laughing to one another within the precise safety space. No urgency to their work. No apologies, nothing.’
Pissed off passengers have been going through hours-long queues right this moment as they make their manner via airport safety — however clients say the strains are transferring
Big gueues have shaped outdoors the terminal and snaked across the facet of the constructing
Inside Birmingham Airport the place individuals eagerly await going via safety to the division lounge
One buyer posted: ‘@bhx_official embarassing state of affairs at #BHX. 2 hours begin to end. Individuals collapsing throughout the place
Individuals queue for hours at Birmingham Airport to get via safety
Birmingham Airport met the deadline at the beginning of this month to put in the brand new 3D scanners, however officers on the West Midlands hub determined to mix each the outdated and the brand new guidelines for carrying liquids ’till additional discover’.
The airport mentioned the previous 100ml limits nonetheless apply, however passengers will likely be allowed to hold them inside their hand baggage as an alternative of being individually screened, which has sparked confusion amongst passengers.
One holidaymaker revealed on social media earlier right this moment that he made his gate ‘with minutes to spare’ solely as a result of he ‘pleaded’ to skip the safety queue.
‘Travelling from Birmingham Airport is an absolute shambles. It has the longest queue for safety that I’ve ever seen in my 49 years,’ he mentioned.
Livid passengers have confronted hours-long queues at Birmingham Airport right this moment amid confusion over new 100ml liquid guidelines
A number of photographs have been posted on-line this morning exhibiting lengthy queues snaking spherical outdoors the airport’s entrance doorways
‘And verify in desks open 2 hours earlier than, regardless of tickets recommending 3 hours. Should you’re reserving vacation now keep away from it just like the plague.
‘Received to the gate with minutes to spare. And solely as a result of I jumped out of the road and pleaded my case. Tons of could have missed flights. This was at 4am.’
How 3D scanners are to spell the tip for 100ml liquid limits
The present guidelines on liquids states that flyers are solely allowed to hold containers of 100ml in hand baggage.
This yr, nonetheless, passengers at choose airports will be capable to carry 330ml containers (2L) via safety.
Just like these utilized in hospitals, new CT scanners take high-resolution 3D photographs permitting baggage to be checked exactly with out the necessity to take away objects, thus rushing up the safety course of.
It means travellers will be capable to go away liquids, laptops and electronics inside their baggage once they stroll via safety.
Baggage guidelines will nonetheless differ between totally different airways, so passengers are urged to verify earlier than travelling.
Birmingham Airport mentioned in a press release that alongside the safety delays with the brand new know-how, ‘on-going constructing works on-site’ have added to the ‘regular busy morning’ as clients have waited in ‘lengthy and thin queues’.
It’s the newest instance of chaos at a British airport following the e-gate mayhem final month, which noticed households ready hours with no ‘meals or water’ after the passport IT system collapsed ‘nationwide’.
The fault with the e-gates left stranding passengers in ever lengthening queues in arrivals halls and in some instances trapping them on planes.
The ‘main, main incident’ was attributable to a Wi-Fi outage which in flip stopped a Border Power’s safety database known as ‘Border Crossing’ from with the ability to replace. The system was launched three years in the past, costing taxpayers £372million.
The fallout from the disruption continues with many passengers expressing their disbelief on the lack of an ample again up plan in place that resulted in some queuing for longer on the border than they spent on their flight from Lisbon.
Discussing the choice to retain the earlier 100ml restrict, Birmingham Airport mentioned: ‘Sooner or later this new gear will permit liquids of as much as two litres to be taken via in cabin baggage, nonetheless some restrictions quickly stay in place.
‘Till additional discover, passengers are suggested that they will solely carry liquids as much as 100ml, albeit it might keep in hand baggage and not must be in a plastic bag.’
Birmingham Airport was one of many only a few UK airports to fulfill the federal government deadline for putting in the brand new scanners by June 1.
4 important UK airports revealed yesterday they will not be capable to scrap the strict 100ml liquid guidelines till subsequent yr in a contemporary blow for holidaymakers.
London Gatwick, London Stansted, East Midlands and Manchester Airport are amongst these to confess they’ve missed the deadline, revealing the scanners won’t be in place till 2025.
Birmingham and Bristol Airport each introduced they’d set up the machines together with Teesside, Southend, Iverness, Stornoway and Aberdeen Airport.
Some passengers have reported what number of have missed their flights whereas others made it to their gates with minutes to spare after pleading to be let via
The delays come amid confusion over new 3D safety scanners at Birmingham airport
A take a look at the huge queues outdoors Birmingham Airport’s entrance doorways this morning
The present guidelines – which state that liquids can solely be carried in containers of as much as 100ml – have been introduced into place in 2006 after police foiled a terrorist plot to carry down no less than seven transatlantic flights with liquid explosives disguised as 500ml drinks bottles.
Now, new fast-track 3D scanners will produce extra detailed photographs, that means passengers can cross via airport safety with containers holding as much as two litres of liquid of their hand baggage.
The brand new know-how is alleged to slash ready occasions by permitting passengers to depart laptops and liquids of their carry-on baggage.
However, regardless of this addition, with the outdated guidelines in place large delays have been reported at Birmingham in latest weeks with some revealing they’ve missed flights.
Al Titterington, the airport’s terminal operations director, mentioned: ‘As soon as we obtain the regulatory approval that can permit two litres to be carried as hand baggage via Birmingham airport, we are going to then be capable to remodel the shopper expertise with this world-class safety screening gear.
‘The airport appears to be like ahead with the ability to announce when it receives its regulatory approval for the carriage of two litres, till this time clients ought to put together as above.’
Photos of an enormous queue snaking outdoors the airport’s entrance doorways have been taken this morning.
Anxious holidaymakers described the ready occasions to get via safety because the ‘longest they’ve ever seen’.
It comes after weeks of distress and delays on the airport the place passengers have reported lacking flights.
Kevin Brown, who’s travelling from the airport right this moment, shared an image of the queues on-line with the caption: ‘Arrive at 5.30am for a 7.45am departure and met with this. Shameful.’
Holidaymaker Alison Woolhouse mentioned she was instructed to hitch the massive queue outdoors the airport after checking her luggage in. She described the scenes as ‘carnage’.
Holidaymakers have described the queues, that are pictured right here going across the nook, as a ‘shame’
The brand new know-how will slash ready occasions by permitting passengers to depart laptops and liquids of their carry-on baggage
The queue time to get via safety was mentioned to have calmed down by round 8am, in accordance with one passenger on the airport.
John O’Brien mentioned at 7.55am this morning: ‘Right here now and it isn’t dangerous in any respect. Forty minutes to queue from outdoors to get to safety. Queue hasn’t stopped transferring. Workers very useful.’
The airport completed its £60million ‘state-of-the-art’ safety corridor improve in Could after months of development work.
It is going to ultimately permit passengers to hold liquids of as much as two litres in cabin baggage however regardless of the work being accomplished, the airport mentioned that ’till additional discover’ passengers would solely be capable to carry liquids of as much as 100ml as ‘partial regulatory restrictions’ have been in place.
Offering an replace on the brand new safety corridor, a Birmingham Airport spokesperson mentioned yesterday: ‘Birmingham Airport is likely one of the first UK airports to fulfill the June 1 Authorities deadline for the implementation of recent safety screening requirements for passenger and cabin baggage. Nonetheless, sure liquid restrictions will stay in place.
Livid passengers shared their anger over the queues at Birmingham Airport on-line
Tons of of travellers have been stranded in a single day at Stansted after the e-gate chaos final month
The walkway resulting in passport management at Gatwick airport was full of individuals queuing for the Border Power
‘Sooner or later this new gear will permit liquids of as much as two litres to be taken via in cabin baggage, nonetheless some restrictions quickly stay in place.
‘Till additional discover, passengers are suggested that they will solely carry liquids as much as 100ml, albeit it might keep in hand baggage and not must be in a plastic bag, when departing from Birmingham Airport.
‘The Airport has invested £60m in its new bigger safety space. This space is objective constructed with easier, streamlined gear and can futureproof Birmingham Airport from its present 12 million passengers per yr in 2024, to accommodate 18m passengers each year by 2033.’
Right this moment, a Birmingham Airport spokesperson mentioned: ‘We had a regular busy morning at Birmingham Airport, with clients queuing in unfamiliar areas. The queue was lengthy and thin in elements nonetheless it moved shortly via the terminal.
‘Though our new safety corridor is operational, we nonetheless have on-going constructing works on-site and are awaiting regulatory approval that can permit liquids of as much as two litres to be taken via in cabin baggage.
‘These constructing works will proceed for the foreseeable future as we redevelop the airport, which is a part of our deliberate, and beforehand introduced, £300m funding.’
