Birmingham Airport

✅ Trip Verified | Two flights arriving and only 4 immigration officials at passport control. Always the same, such a joke almost 50 minutes wait. Baggage carousels took another 40 minutes. Why can’t they learn from other airports and try and improve service. Not a good welcome to Birmingham.

✅ Trip Verified | I am writing this review from the airport as I'm waiting to depart. This airport is designed to squeeze every last penny from you. It starts when getting dropped off, where you have to pay 2 pounds just to let someone out of the car. By the time you figured out you are heading to this drop off zone it is already too late to turn around. The departures hall is ok, pretty much what you would expect from an airport. Going through security is a bit of a pain, as the lines are a bit unclear which clearly makes the staff unhappy because everyone is in the wrong place. Going through security also takes way longer than it should due to their slow operating luggage scanning (there is enough staff on hand). After passing security it is time to spend money again. Instead of going in a straight line to the waiting area you have to take some sort of ikea route through all the smelly parfume shops, the only difference to Ikea being that there are no shortcuts in this airport. Inside the waiting area I always get stopped by someone because they have to offer me a great deal on something. Of course this deal involves me spending some money to gain great advantage. On the way here I had to wait at Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport, and even though they offer more shops it is just not so in your face, which makes the experience a lot better in my opinion.

✅ Trip Verified | The airport was extremely busy, but after queuing for an hour at security we were fast tracked to the front because our flight was boarding. Even then it took another 15 minutes to get to our turn at the barrier. Then one of our group - a young girl - was pulled out for a bag search, and the nightmare began. The security man was taking a long time individually bagging-up the many bottles in the bag of another passenger. He often wandered off to chat with a colleague who was having trouble working her radio. When asked if he could maybe help because our flight was due to leave, he said (swearing removed) "No - I'm taking my time. If you'd listened to instructions and packed your bag properly, you wouldn't be here, would you?". After another 15-20 minutes of swearing and even squaring-up aggressively to a male member of our group, another security staff member checked her bag - and decided it was fine after all. That staff member apologised for the other guy, saying there had been complaints from other passengers about behaviour from him. Luckily we were flying with the incredible SAS, just about the calmest and friendliest airline in the world - who entirely understood, held back the flight for us and made the rest of the trip worthwhile. What a contrast in customer service!

❎ Not Verified | This airport has grown significantly by adding on to an old not-fit-for-purpose facility over several decades. Significant investment - yes - but it's now still as unfriendly to customers as it was in the 1970s and 80s. The attitude of staff is still reminiscent of when it was a effectively council-run. An example of this was in the security area when flying early in March. I was told to comply with orders when I politely said "please!" to a particularly unpleasant female member of their staff who ordered me to raise my arms. She then told me that "If you don't do as you're told, you don't fly". I have no problem with security as a necessary evil, but I will not tolerate rudeness and overbearing officialdom from someone who clearly enjoys the sense of power she has that would otherwise be beyond her grasp. She would do well as a prison officer. I, however, am a customer contributing to her wages. Otherwise the airport facilities are designed like so many others, to extract as much money from passengers as possible and making life a sdfficult as possible. BHX is no differnt in this respect than any other. It all makes flying a thoroughly distasteful experience.

❎ Not Verified | Miserable experience at this airport, it never seems to improve. It is geared very much towards the holidaymaker or low cost airline passenger. The airport is too small to cope with the large number of flights at certain times of the day. This leads to massive queues to go through security and long lines of people waiting to pay in shops. I used the Aspire lounge and won't be returning. Both coffee machines broken (yes, both at the same time) and no bathroom for the lounge, you have to go and use the ones in the main terminal! The arrival was ok this time (apart from the walk to the terminal in the rain and having to walk up flights of stairs) as thankfully there were no queues at passport control and I didn' t have any luggage to collect. As I walked through the luggage collection area my flight wasn't even on the screens showing from which belt to collect. I am glad I do not have to use this airport on a regular basis

✅ Trip Verified | Just like to say how helpful Swissport were on Sunday March 18. Flights were delayed due to adverse weather and the staff member managed to get me on an earlier flight so that I wouldn’t miss my connection in Geneva. Lots of people were shouting at the counter staff but they remained positive and helpful.

❎ Not Verified | Terrible airport, worst I have ever travelled through. Long queues passing through security for departure. Literally hours to pass through. The departure lounge does not have sufficient seating, too many shops and outlets which have appeared to have swallowed up seating areas.

❎ Not Verified | I was a paying customer to use the fast track service. A member of staff at the fast track desk yelled at me for no reason. I was actually accused of not paying for the service even though I had proof of purchase in my hand! I have never been subjected to such a rude and unprofessional manner. In fact the whole thing quite upset me, which is not the start to my trip that I had anticipated. I recommend that nobody purchases the fast track service.

✅ Trip Verified | Appalling, disorganised, a disgrace. Conveyor belt was broken at checkout on 17.02.18 at 8.30 am. Plenty of staff at check-in but they could not process the bags. This apparently happens frequently. No sign of a duty manager or anyone taking control of situation. We got to the checkin desk and had to wait 25 minutes to check 3 bags in. It’s a total shambles.

❎ Not Verified | Absolutely the most disorganised and dirtiest airport in the world. I am ashamed that visitors to the UK through Birmingham should get such a low impression of the country. Senior management should be called to task. If you want proof just visit the toilets around baggage claim six which are of third World standard for cleanses and decor. The facilities and organisation for taking disabled passengers off holiday flights that do not dock with an air bridge is to say the least unprofessional, disappointed is not a strong enough statement.