In 2024, Birmingham Airport faced major disruptions, causing long delays and frustration for thousands of travelers during peak times.
Birmingham: The airport really made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2024. With construction work and a surge in travelers, chaos ensued. Long lines of frustrated passengers became a common sight.
This wasn’t just a one-off issue; it dragged on for weeks. People arriving for their flights found themselves stuck in hours of waiting, worrying if they’d even make it on time.
I saw it all firsthand during the summer. I flew out of Birmingham four times and once more in September. It was a real eye-opener, especially when I was traveling with my family.
So, what was behind these awful queues? BirminghamLive started reporting on the security issues in mid-May. The sight of a long line of people waiting just to get inside became all too familiar.
One family even missed their flight after arriving two and a half hours early. Christopher Craske called it ‘absolute chaos’ and said, “No one cares, it’s disgusting. Boys are absolutely gutted.”
On May 17, a huge queue formed outside the airport. The bosses blamed the delays on construction and the sunny weather. They said they had to queue people outside to manage the congestion.
They also mentioned that new security scanners were supposed to speed things up. But with fewer machines available, the lines just kept getting longer.
BirminghamLive kept the updates coming, reporting on the chaos almost daily. Passengers had to arrive much earlier than usual just to get through security.
In June, the airport’s chief executive warned travelers to ‘be prepared.’ They expected new liquid rules to be in place, but the government stuck to the old 100ml limit, slowing things down even more.
I experienced the queue nightmare myself in June. I flew to Düsseldorf and had to arrive way earlier than normal. I thought I’d be fine with just hand luggage, but I still had to wait ages.
Even though I got there three hours and 20 minutes early, the queue was already massive. It took me 30 minutes just to get inside the building.
After that, it was another half hour to get to the lift. I noticed that only five out of seven scanners were in use, which didn’t help the situation.
When I compared it to my return from Düsseldorf, where there was no queue at all, it was a world of difference. I got through security in just 11 minutes.
Fast forward a few days, and I was back at Birmingham Airport, this time flying to Frankfurt. The experience was much better. The queue was still long, but it moved faster.
It took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get through security, which was a big improvement. They had more scanners in use, and it felt like they were finally getting it together.
By July, things had improved even more. I flew to Düsseldorf again, and there was hardly any wait. It was how airport security should be—quick and efficient.
I flew out of Birmingham a couple more times that summer, and even bought a FastTrack pass for one trip, but there was no queue at all.
Of course, the queue gremlins returned briefly in September, but the airport assured everyone that most passengers had smooth experiences over the summer.
Let’s hope we don’t see any more chaos at Birmingham Airport in 2025!
