East Midlands Airport

✅ Trip Verified | I think this is the 3rd time I have had the random search and probably have only flown from the airport half a dozen times. I live not 20 minutes away and have done for the past 16 years. But today was the last time if I can help it. And will go to Birmingham from now on. Flying inbound for Edinburgh and like the other reviews state terrible organisation at the check in. Security treat you like criminals, my crime for having 60ml evape liquid, and my bag partially unsealed, my evape liquid confiscated because it falls under being an explosive mixture, never had it taken off me before. As always seems the case I lose 1 or 2 items even if I have been really careful what I am taking. And the whole experience just makes you feel awful. They do nothing to put you at ease and the women searching my cabin case was rude in my opinion. Really unnerving and I was shaking when I finally reached the gate. Thankfully someone started to speak to me as I'm traveling alone and I felt better being able to explain what just happened to this person.

❎ Not Verified | Extremely chaotic on return from Spain. Queue for security exit was horrendous. Extending to further area. No help for people with young children for giving them any priority whatever. No additional staff when extra planes land. The police desks were barely manned and the auto entries extremely slow. People were very tolerant in such a volatile place

✅ Trip Verified | I have travelled from this airport for many years and the standards just get worse and worse each trip. This trip included; I paid for fast track security because there is always horrific queues (even outside summer) with only 1 or 2 of the 10 security lines open. Then we found ourselves guided towards the horrifically long queue anyway! Took 20 minutes to get anyone's attention and complain loud enough to reopen the fast track, only to then join the front of the other long queue instead of the back so still in the misery of the cattle market. At the other side of security you feel like you are in an old farm building that's been converted, its so far removed from the reality of modern airports it isn't true. That could be to its advantage, make it special but instead the airport feels old, tired, dirty - all except the duty free of course which sparkles bright. Then on our return; passport control again had only 2 staff on their 6 desks. 5 planes had landed in the recent past mainly full of families with young children. Thousands of people queuing up to see one of the 2 officers, kids crying, adults getting frustrated. None EU nationals were in the queue and seen by the 2 same officers, those took forever. It isn't passport control I mind (I voted for brexit after all), it's the lack of response to the planned volumes. They seem to take delight in keeping everyone like sheep in pens while they stand on their pedestals peering down at us all in glee. Appalling lack of customer service. Honestly, I'm reviewing where I fly from. But they know they have a captive audience and so they don't care a jot. Shame on you EMA

✅ Trip Verified | I have written a review of this airport before but it seems to be getting worse. I really feel that this is one of the worst airports I have ever encountered and can say this with the benefit of some experience as I take up to 36 flights per year. I can suffer most things but I strongly object to the way EMA staff treats passengers - staff are so rude and show no consideration to travellers whatsoever, they really need to be educated in customer service. In particular the outbound security which can take forever and most of all the inbound immigration. It can take ages often queuing for ages, both inside and outside, in all weathers. They insist in funnelling all passengers to a limited number of auto/chip immigration machine while immigration officers sit in their 'booth' arms folded watching the passengers. This maybe a policy the EMA is being forced to follow but the staff are so rude and inconsiderate in the way they channel the long line of passengers. Unfortunately I am forced to use EMA for the convenience of one particular flight that I use regularly but I am now considering going to an airport that is much further away to try a different route - it is that bad at EMA. Not that anyone at EMA will care.

✅ Trip Verified | Appalling place. Had to walk 100 yards in heavy rain from aircraft to arrivals hall. On departure, forced to negotiate the 'shopping experience' slalom which is noisy and crowded. Security clearance is desperately slow and undermanned. Staff barking at passengers – the airport's customers – while in an adjacent aisle a staff member is loudly telling a customer: "Not my problem. Not my problem. Get here earlier." Called to the gate for departure to Glasgow, we have to stand for 10 minutes because nobody has unlocked the access door. A depressing airport, a depressing experience and one to be repeated only if all other options are unavailable.

❎ Not Verified | Lovely little airport. So easy to use. Like Bristol airport 20 years ago! Nice staff. Airport Escape lounge good value. Stayed in Jury’s hotel very easy walk to airport. Please don’t ever expand this airport it’s so stress free and not long walks to the gates. Would definitely use again.

❎ Not Verified | The arrivals procedure is a complete shambles. Arriving back at 8.30pm it took over 1 hour to clear immigration. Passengers have to queue outside under canopies in wind and rain before entering the building. This used to be my airport of choice but until the this situation is improved I wont be using East Midlands again. The airport management should be ashamed of the way this airport is now run.

✅ Trip Verified | I have just experienced the most confusing and stressful time as I was about to go through the security checks at 18.50, 18/12/17. This is more confusing because there was only 4 of us in the queue and the man at the front loading the trays managed to confuse and annoy every person. At first he told me to put my phone away (I was not using it, I was trying to turn it off) then he told me to take it out of my bag, but he had told the lady in front to put hers away in her bag. Then he told the lady to remove her hair straighteners and made her unpack her bag. I then asked if I needed to remove my boots and he said yes, I then turned to my partner and told him that he had to remove his boots too and the man stopped my partner and said, "no not you". I am a little hard of hearing so I said, should I still remove my boots? He replied “yes”. Then he called my partner back and told him that he had to remove his boots? By this time we were all trying to make sense of the inconsistencies and he laughed. I am not sure if he was making life a bit difficult because there were no other people in the queue behind us? To be told one thing and then say no and then call you back to say another thing is not fair on the traveller. I fly frequently between East Midlands and Belfast and I am used to separating things out and I understand security and the importance of it, but to swap and change without sense nor any logical reason does not help this process. Once through security, the other couple whose we did not know and were not travelling with he had approached us and asked “what was all that about, we didn’t know what we were supposed to be doing in the end”. I suggest that in future, clear and concise and consistent instructions would be more appropriate. This is my only complaint all other staff seemed very effective and efficient.

✅ Trip Verified | Very slow immigration. There were a handful of staff in the immigration area. One Boarder Security person manually checking passports the rest "managing" the single queue of people. The majority of people forced to use the e-passport barriers (or whatever they're called). This is a row of 5 or 6 machines with electronic barriers allowing people to enter and leave the machine. Why were there two people stood holding the queue back from the machines and then assigning people one at a time to the row of machines? This is a waste of time and slows the whole process down! Why not just let people queue at the machines, much like they do at train stations and allow the machines to do their job? In my opinion, having two people hold back the queue in this way is a ridiculous approach to take, especially while the queue is out of the door and people are left out in the cold especially after tiring travel.

❎ Not Verified | Whilst on this occasion the departure areas weren’t too bad but on a previous trip in a September there isn’t sufficient room between departure gates and the food areas. On getting back this time the passport control areas had been doubled in size but there are still insufficient staff to check passports. When 2 flights arrive at the same time it takes at least 20mins to get through. Why is there no specific queue for a family with children under 12. Families have to go all the way round and then can’t use the e-passport units! The border control staff seem to have had a personality bypass. No smiles etc. At least you don’t have to wait long for you4 luggage. All in all not a good experience. If it was another business they would have gone under long ago.