Birmingham Airport

Security queues would be shorter if they weren't making up their own rules about what can be in hand luggage and pulling over people for items OK in every other airport I've been through in the US and Europe.

I was a bit gobsmacked when flying out on a Sunday afternoon when I saw the length of the security queue which stretched right round the perimeter of the landside departures area but extremely impressed by how well it was managed by cheerful and committed staff - only 25 minutes to get through - now that's efficiency at its best! The departure lounge is good in terms of the facilities it offers but I always hate the lack of windows in this part of the airport - it's amazing when you head out to the boarding gates the difference made by the light from outside coming in! Feel the UK arrivals terminal could be better staffed - passengers should not have to wait for doors to be opened but baggage claim is generally quick enough car hire pick up is a short walk from the terminal and the location means you can be on several major motorways in minutes - so all in all a pretty good airport.

This is the last time I shall fly to Birmingham. I will use Heathrow from now on. There can be no excuse for the length of time it takes to receive baggage at this airport. Toilets are a disgrace. This is utterly unacceptable in this day and age. And to charge for trolleys is the final nail in the coffin.

Security at BHX probably the longest wait for security checks in the world has been like it for at least 18 months. Useless management always give excuses never try to rectify the major problem. Awful situation. they always say its a busy time of the day for flights! Get real its an airport what do you expect?

The security queues are consistently some of the worse I have encountered but now this seems to have spread to check-in too. Flybe one of the biggest airlines in terms of routes from Birmingham have introduced a chaotic "self-luggage weighing" system. It's the airport equivalent of self-scan tills at supermarkets where they constantly tell you to seek assistance and there is no-one free to assist. When we finally got assistance we were told we could not use the system as we were travelling with an infant (wrong we had a child) and had to go to the back of the standard check-in queue! The check-in queue was full of people like us who had already checked in and just needed to drop bags but were no doubt unwilling or unable to take a chance on the self weighing option. Tempers were fraying all over as people weren't clear which queue to join.

Credit where credit is due. I have often criticised this airport for the appalling queues for immigration and security checks and also luggage delivery waiting times. However I arrived there on a Friday in April and the passport control queue was fairly quick (Emirates landed after us) and I prepared for the long wait for luggage to appear. On this occasion the luggage appeared in about 10 minutes that must be a record for BHX. Perhaps they have taken on board the countless critical remarks and are now heading in the right direction.

I recently arrived at BHX knowing that the baggage trolleys come at a price which I was not prepared to pay. I am a small person but somehow managed my 52 kgs of luggage on my own! The priority baggage handling of Business class was a huge bonus as I recall my baggage collection in Economy taking far too long last year. My cup of coffee at BHX departure cost me £2.50. I was very fortunate to get Express check in which greatly reduced the Security queuing time. I am unsure whether to recommend this airport in view of cost factors.

Please make sure you are aware it costs £1 to just drop off passengers and for 25 minutes to pick up passengers is a staggering £7. Not impressed with the conditions of the toilets. Trolleys are £1 to use. Trolley staff rude and unhelpful. A rip off airport make sure you have a spare £20 just to walk out of the building! Final note bring food all food is over priced.

I have travelled through many airports around the world. While I accept that the management is focused on profit maximisation at the expense of customer satisfaction I do wonder why they are unable to get even the basics right - ie the toilets. The gents toilets are without doubt some of the dirtiest and smelliest airport facilities that I have encountered. (Only one airport in Africa (in Angola) and another in a certain Middle Eastern country compare with the BHX experience). Let us hope that the disillusioned management one day come to their senses as BHX does have the potential to be a proper international airport. For the moment though its management are very successful in portraying it as a regional second rate hub through which many people have no choice but to pass.

Over an hour to get through security on 8th April - that's enough to put me off ever using this airport again. Having only two security lanes open at peak time is completely ridiculous. There were plenty of staff around to manage the queue but if half of them had been put to running the scanners there wouldn't have been a queue that needed managing. If you ever do make it to the departure lounge there is a good range of shops and places to eat. They were almost completely empty when I got there (presumably everyone was spending so long waiting for security they then had to go straight to their planes).