East Midlands Airport

My wife and I travel frequently from the UK to European Destinations and stopped using East Midlands regularly when the airport was found to have different sized baggage checking frames at check in and at the gate (the latter were smaller). This being a few years ago we decided because of flight timings to try again. The airport has got no better then before in many ways. The luggage trolley had a mind of its own, as did the second one we tried so did not bother any more. Ryanair Check in was fine - staff were ok and bags were taken but no option to check in cabin baggage offered (last week at Stansted and two weeks ago at Gatwick Easyjet and BA were happy to oblige and take the pressure off the cabin load). The worst bit was the security 35 minutes on a Tuesday in what is clearly an off peak travelling time - Only two screening devices working out of 9 - after 20 minutes they did put a 3rd on. Staff spent more time bawling at passengers to stop using mobile phones than thinking of opening more machines. Then once you find a toilet there are few cubicles for an airport that size so you wait. And of course a lack of areas to sit and wait for your plane which for us over 60's is not good. I have been in other basic airports where it has taken less time to be checked. If you can avoid East Midlands I would urge you to do so. As a positive the Coffee was very good at the Sausage Shop but of course that was not managed by the Airport directly and I am sure had we time to try it, which we hoped to do, the Castle Rock Bar would have been excellent but I am not going to woll down a beer in 15 minutes.

EMA is a lethargic out of date airport facility. The design is third rate with more space for perfumery than passenger walkway. It's clearly not big enough to handle the passenger numbers. Selection of flights looks to be getting worse with no imagination or determination to create. The management must admit it's not fit for purpose. A complete overhaul is needed including moving sidewalk to help disabled and clearer signage. No wonder airlines have departed. Just ask EasyJet.

✅ Verified Review | I am a frequent flyer, about 30-40 flights per year, both long haul and short haul. Back in October last year I chose to fly out of East Midlands Airport because of the convenience of one particular flight. I found the experience of getting through security at EMA shocking with very, very long queues. Fast track made no difference - I very nearly missed my flight. Also I found the staff were so rude. I just put this down to a bad day but I had to go on a similar flight last week and on the way back I came in through immigration and was directed to the auto 'chip and pin' passport control. I asked if I could use the normal desk passport control and I was told no - despite the fact that 6 immigration desks/officers were sitting doing nothing - literally just sitting at their desks looking out at the big queues for the auto passport control. When I mentioned this to staff they said "I know, you should complain". I find that EMA really does not give a damn about travellers. They are only interested in getting car park revenues. I will avoid EMA if possible in the future.

Used this airport in June and said I would never again due to huge delays in checking in and security. Foolishly used again last Tuesday, left for gate 5 once Lanzarote flight opened to find the whole corridor blocked with passengers for other flights. No one knew what was going on with no staff around it was total chaos, had paid for priority boarding but could not get to gate to use. Was very late boarding aircraft I fly 3 times a month on average and will never never use this airport again. The only good thing here is the express parking but the way passengers are treated is a complete joke.

All went well until we reached security at 7.30 am. Two gates plus express lane open. 40 min to process through. I appreciate the importance of security but this kind of delay is unacceptable, not the first time, furthermore if the security is carried out with this lack of pace and interest does it have real value. After speaking with the management lack of staff was the primary reason for the accepted complaint. Apart from the frustration in the delay I feel very sorry for the retail section of the airport who have the task of selling products to disgruntled customers. We have very little time for a coffee and bacon butty which had to be taken on board where we were delayed by another 20 min because EMA would not entrust self loading cargo to board the correct plane and did not provide ballast for the prop. plane so we had to move passengers about. For a 50 min flight too many delays.

Great little airport. Long stay parking was great value and within a 5 minute walk of the terminal, so no need to wait for shuttle buses. Once inside, check in and security were OK, in fact quicker than most. Facilities in the departure lounge are great - no complaints. On our return, a week later, we were driving home in our car within 35 minutes of landing! We have never experienced better than that. Well done EMA - our experience was brilliant (unlike Stansted earlier this year, which was awful).

We had no problems going out of East Midlands Airport, usual queues at security. Worst problem was coming home and trying to get back through immigration. 5 people sitting at the desks waiting, there was fortunately only our flight at that time, first bus arrived and we were shepherded to the left and then realised we were stuck in a queue for the machines that scan your passports, no one was sent to the people sitting at the desks. Everyone started to complain but all we got was a woman that smirked at us and wouldn't answer why we could not go to the desks. The second bus came and they were sent to the right to the desks, they were flying through whilst we were all still queuing for the stupid machines. It was very late and cold but they didnt give a damn. Tempers were getting frayed by this time and again we asked the woman why we were not sent to the desks she said they were for the disabled and families. There were 3 disabled passengers and 1 family. Someone told us in September when we flew that it takes 17 seconds to process each person through the machines. If they made them quicker and more machines it would not be too bad. Ridiculous.

✅ Verified Review | This is the most unorganized airport I have ever been to. I was standing in a queue for two hours, one hour to check in my main luggage and another hour at the security. I nearly missed my flight. They told me that I missed it, then changed their mind after a minute and let me in.

I used to enjoy using East Midlands airport, but I am now looking for alternative routes to/from the Midlands as I am totally frustrated by the lengthy queues at security. The staff do not even seem concerned about the long queues and just seem to enjoy barking out orders. Maybe it is a sign of the airports' success that it has attracted so many holiday flights, but I am sure business users will be looking to take their business elsewhere.

✅ Verified Review | I travelled through East Midlands airport on the way to the Netherlands. On arrival me and my sister proceeded through security. What a horrible experience. There must have been 300+ queuing with a small number of security staff operating. The security hall was oppressive and crowded. One member of staff in particular thought it was ok to shout at customers and moan at them when people were taking longer. I know that they have a very important job to do but I think they forgot that we are customers. I felt that they found us a major inconvenience. I do believe that this type of experience can cause anxiety, children were screaming and a lot of people were moaning about the time that they had to wait. The need to improve staff moral and training in customer service. Even going back to basics about courtesy and manners. Coming back from the Netherlands showed what could be done. All the staff were polite and friendly but effective in moving many more people through then East Midlands. If they can do it so can you.