Birmingham Airport has recruited dozens of staff in a bid to battle with growing travel chaos due to confusion over the 100ml liquid rules.
Airport bosses have hired ‘liquid consultants’ to help frustrated holidaymakers who have been waiting in hours-long queues to go through security in recent weeks. Some people have even missed flights.
The staff will help ensure passengers are only carrying 100ml containers of liquid after the Government temporarily reversed its plans to scrap the measure.
The government had originally given approval to some airports to allow passengers to carry up to two litres of liquids in their hand luggage after the installation of new CT scanners. But it has temporarily re-introduced the 100ml restriction until further notice.
Passenger anxiety remains high over what to do with liquids and how long to leave before a flight.
Posting on X/Twitter, Chris McBride said queues started at 2:30am in the morning.
Another, who raised a complaint, said: ‘Due to security checkin delay, Me and my wife missed the flight despite arriving 2.5 hours before scheduled flight time.’
A third quipped: ‘Birmingham Airport is crowed at 4:30 on a Wednesday morning. Note to self: don’t go see your friends in the summer time anymore.’
But another traveller said he was through security in one hour and ten minutes from his car to departures.
John Wright said: ‘Arrived at @bhx-official this morning at 5.00am using @airparksexpress car park.
‘Baggage dropoff quite quick with @jet2tweets and was through security by 6.10. Earliest I’ve ever been given flight is 8.30.’
Over the last few weeks, passengers on long-haul flights were advised to arrive as much as four hours in advance of their departure time to check in.
The ongoing disruption has sparked fears that delays could continue for months.
The airport has said that despite investing millions in its new security hall, it cannot use it to its full capability because of a UK Government directive on liquids, and the fact it is yet to free up more space.
Birmingham Airport chief executive Nick Barton said the extra ‘third-party customer service specialists’ would explain current rules and help passengers ‘prepare for security’.
Mr Barton also revealed that key features such as escalators had been removed for health and safety reasons and would be replaced by lifts.
He said: ‘The escalators were really dangerous. We removed them because they were a health and safety issue.
‘These lifts are huge, we only really need three of them to be working in the peak. When the ground space opens up people won’t be queuing downstairs.’
He continued: ‘These new measures are designed to give passengers a smoother and easier experience though security.’
He added that passengers were made to queue outside to reduce panic and crowding inside and explained: ‘It is much nicer to queue outside as much as we regret the perception that this has on the passengers.’
Airports have criticised the Government for the liquid rules U-turn after some airports – including Birmingham – had installed new 3D scanners.
It should have meant the rules were changed on June 1 so passengers could carry liquids up to two litres in their hand luggage.
But the likes of Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester were allowed to miss the latest deadline for installing them after various logistical challenges.
Some airports that had installed the new technology had already dropped the 100ml liquid rule.
But the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that six British airports will temporarily reintroduce the ban.
The change affects passengers travelling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.
All of the airports have Next Generation Security Checkpoints (NGSC) in operation, which had allowed them to scrap the 100ml rule.
The high-tech CT scanners create a 3D image of what is inside passengers’ bags and are being introduced in a number of airports across the UK with the aim of speeding up security checks.
Birmingham Airport had already been told to keep the 100ml ban while it waited for regulatory approval after installing its new £60million security screening hall, which included the new high tech scanners.
It was previously claimed by insiders that the queues seen at the airport could last for months and the airport is ‘understaffed’, leaving employees ‘overworked’ and ‘struggling’.
Birmingham Airport said in a statement that alongside the security delays with the new technology, ‘on-going building works on-site’ have added to the ‘usual busy morning’ as customers have waited in ‘long and skinny queues’.
A later statement from a spokesperson said: ‘There was no chaos at the airport. We used our temporary outdoor facility and saw a constantly moving queue. This new facility is as of a direct result of the Government restrictions on liquids.
‘Our average queue time in the peak period between 0400-0600 hours is around 30-60 minutes with the majority of the day seeing no queues at all.
‘As ever we remind all customers to arrive in line with their check in opening time and not before, details of this time can be found on booking documents, and to only bring liquids containers under 100ml in their hand baggage.’
UK airports and scanner status:
Current liquid rules for airports with new scanners:
Bottles to be no larger than 100ml
Airports in control of amount of liquid in total (up to two litres) and whether they must be removed from bags or stored in clear pouches
UK airports without new scanners operating liquid rules dating back to 2006:
Bottles/containers to be no larger than 100ml
Liquids must total under one litre
Passengers must remove liquids from hand luggage at security
Liquids to be kept in clear, plastic bags
New-style liquid rules (to be introduced in future):
Liquids may remain in luggage at security
Bottles can be of any size and loose inside bags
Liquids can total up to two litres